Etymologically
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horizontalis

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [hɔ.rɪz.zɔnˈtaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [o.rid.d͡zonˈtaː.lis][1]

Forms

horizontālis (neuter horizontāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin horizōn (“horizon”) + -ālis.[1][2][3] The base goes back to Ancient Greek ὁρίζων (horízōn).[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Albertus Magnus uses it in his De caelo, of the horizontal circle, the circle of the horizon.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages it meant belonging to the horizon,[5][2] and in New Latin also horizontal.[1] Copernicus has a table of horizontal angles, the angles that the ecliptic makes with the horizon.[3] English horizontal, from the 1550s, came through French.[6]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Albertus Magnus writes of the horizontal circle.[5][2]
  • 1550s – English horizontal is recorded, meaning “of the horizon”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Of the horizon.[5][2]
  2. (astronomy) angulus horizontālis: the angle that the ecliptic makes with the horizon.[3]
  3. (New Latin) horizontal.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  4. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  5. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com