Etymologically
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hierarchia

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Forms

hierarchia f (genitive hierarchiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἱεραρχία (hierarkhía),[1][2][3][4] a Greek word that Etymonline glosses “rule of a high priest”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL knows it only from a Greek–Latin glossary, where it renders the Greek word,[6] and the first dated author in Köbler is Abbo (890–897).[4] It belongs to the theology of the sacred orders, the ranked divisions of angels in the system of Dionysius the Areopagite.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Medieval Latin used it as a technical term of the Church and theology for an order or degree of sacred rank:[2] for the divine hierarchy of the three persons, which Albertus Magnus discusses, for the celestial hierarchy of the angels, and for the human, ecclesiastical hierarchy, which an epistle describes as threefold like the celestial one.[2] It could also mean a host, paradise, majesty, or dominion.[2] British sources gloss it sacer principatus, “holy rule”, and use it of celestial, ecclesiastical and secular orders, of a high church office, and as a book title;[3] in Bohemia it was the title of the work ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite.[7] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for the governing body of the Church.[8]

Spellings include gerarchia and ierarchia, and in verse the hier- often counts as one syllable.[4][2] English took it in the late 14th century, through Old French ierarchie.[5]

Timeline

  • 890–897 – Abbo is the first dated author Köbler lists for it.[4]
  • 13th century – Albertus Magnus discusses the divine hierarchy of the three persons.[2][4]
  • 1236 – A British source speaks of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.[3]
  • 1357 – A Hungarian charter mentions a noble lady's wish to exchange earthly for heavenly goods in the celestial hierarchy.[9]
  • late 14th century – English borrows it from Old French as jerarchie, ierarchie.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sacred rule; an order or rank of sacred authority, a hierarchy.[3][2]
  2. The ordered ranks of the angels, the celestial hierarchy.[2][3][9]
  3. The graded orders of the Church; its governing body.[3][8][2]
  4. A high ecclesiastical office.[3]
  5. A host; paradise; majesty, dominion.[2]
  6. A secular order of ranks.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE