iactura

Forms

iactūra f (genitive iactūrae); first declension^[1] Older dictionaries spell it jactūra.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from iaciō “to throw” with the suffix -ūra.^[4][1][5] De Vaan traces ⟨iaciō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *Hyeh₁- (“to throw, let go”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero, whom he dates 81–43 BC, and the OLD's first citations are from Cicero.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

It was a throwing overboard, jettison, as in Cicero's in marī iactūram facere, and the jetsam itself; a loss accepted for the sake of something else, a sacrifice; squandering; deprivation, loss, as in Propertius; in war the loss of men, as in Caesar; and expense, outlay, as in Cicero.^[4][3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it was a loss, a throwing away.^[7] Medieval Latin had iactūra maris “jetsam”, and used it for surrender and forfeiture.^[8] British Medieval Latin used it for an act of throwing, as of stones.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of jettison and sacrifice.^[4][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of losses in battle.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A throwing overboard, jettison; jetsam.^[4]
2. A sacrifice; a loss.^[4]
3. Squandering.^[4]
4. (military) Losses.^[4]
5. Expense, outlay.^[4]
6. (Medieval Latin) Forfeiture.^[8]

Word family

• iacturarius

Related words

• iaciō
• iactō
• damnum

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
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. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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