Etymologically
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gratuito

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Forms

grātuītō (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin grātuītus (“free of charge”) + -ō.[2][1] De Vaan lists grātuītus among the derivatives of grātus (“pleasing”) and notes that it seems to presuppose a u-stem Proto-Italic *gʷrātu-, which is attested in Celtic; the adjective goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷrH-to- (“praised in song”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,[4] who in the De officiis praises defending many people's cases non gravate et gratuito, “willingly and without payment”.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It means without payment, for nothing: Tacitus records that the quaestorship was once granted gratuito, and Suetonius uses it of lending money without interest.[6][5] Sallust stretches it to without cause, in the Bellum Catilinae, of wickedness and cruelty practised gratuito, for its own sake.[2][6] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means without payment or profit, gratuitously.[7] Medieval British writers use it for gratuitously, without good reason.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of pleading cases without a fee.[5][4]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of cruelty without cause.[2][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of an office granted free.[6][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Without payment, for nothing, gratis.[2][5]
  2. Without cause, gratuitously, for its own sake.[2][8]

Usage notes

A late adverb grātuītē of the same meaning occurs in Cassiodorus.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press