holocaustum

Forms

holocaustum n (genitive holocaustī); second declension^[1] Also spelled ⟨olocaustum⟩.^[2][3] Georges treats it together with ⟨holocaustōma⟩ and ⟨holocautōma⟩, from Greek ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokaútōma).^[4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókauston, “a whole burnt offering”),^[6][7][8] the neuter of ὁλόκαυστος (holókaustos, “burnt whole”), from ὅλος (hólos, “whole”) and καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”), from καίω (kaíō, “I burn”).^[1][9] Köbler derives it instead from the noun ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokaútōma).^[5] Isidore of Seville explains it as an offering wholly consumed by fire, from the Greek words for “whole” and “burning”.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sources are Tertullian and the Old Latin Bible.^[11][5] Tertullian uses it in his treatise against the Jews.^[8]

Semantic evolution

It was mainly a Bible word: the Old Latin versions and the Vulgate use it throughout the Old Testament, above all in Leviticus and Numbers, for the sacrifice burnt whole on the altar.^[11][6] A pagan temple law also fixes a fee for it.^[11] Christian writers soon used it figuratively: Hilary says that the martyrs vowed their bodies as burnt offerings in witness to the faith, Jerome calls virginity the holocaustum of Christ, and Gregory the Great speaks of the holocaustum of a pure mind.^[11] It could also mean the victim itself.^[12][13]

Medieval writers kept these senses:^[7][13] Aldhelm writes of the red heifer burnt as a holocaust, Bede explains it as “wholly burnt”, and other writers used it of Isaac and of Christ.^[7][13] In the Middle Ages it also meant the sacrifice of the Mass and a pious gift to the Church;^[12] a Hungarian charter of 1317 says that a king who confirms a church's gifts offers God a most pleasing holocaust.^[2] English took holocaust in the mid-13th century, from Old French or from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.^[11][8][5]
• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it.^[11][5]
• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary says the martyrs vowed their bodies as holocausts.^[11][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it throughout the Old Testament.^[11][6][5]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains it as an offering wholly burnt.^[10][5]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm writes of the red heifer burnt as a holocaust.^[7][13][5]
• mid-13th century – English holocaust is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A whole burnt offering, a sacrifice wholly consumed by fire.^{[6][11][12][14]}
2. The victim for a burnt offering.^[12][13]
3. (figurative) An offering of oneself to God; of martyrs, virtues or prayer.^[11][7][13]
4. (Medieval Latin) The sacrifice of the Mass.^[12]
5. (Medieval Latin) A pious gift.^[12][2]

Related words

• holocaustus
• holocaustōma
• sacrificium
• victima
• English holocaust

Usage notes

Medieval scribes sometimes confused it with encaustum, “ink”: the customs of Hirsau use it for the sign for writing.^[15][7][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
3. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
12. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
13. ^ a b c d e f 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
14. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
15. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre