hibernatio

Forms

hībernātiō f (genitive hībernātiōnis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin hībernō (“to spend the winter”) + -tiō.^[3][1][4] The verb is formed from hībernus (“of winter”),^[5] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *χeim-r-ino- (“wintry”), a derivative of the word continued in hiems “winter”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is known only from the Latin–Greek glossaries, which give it as the equivalent of Greek παραχειμασία (paracheimasía, “wintering”).^[3][1][7]

Semantic evolution

Georges, Gaffiot and the TLL record no literary use; the glossaries are its only ancient witnesses.^[3][1][2] English took it in the 1660s as hibernation, first for plants and insect eggs passing the winter.^[4]

Timeline

• 1660s – Borrowed into English as hibernation.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of spending the winter, wintering.^[3][1][2][7]

Related words

• hībernus
• English hibernation

References

1. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de