idea

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɪ.de.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈiː.de.a]^[1]

Forms

idea f (genitive ideae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “form, notion, pattern”).^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero still writes the Greek word in Greek letters, though many manuscripts have it in Latin, and Seneca the Younger uses it as a Latin word in his Letters.^[4][5][6] Köbler dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a term of Platonic philosophy, an idea or eternal archetype of things.^[2][5] Vitruvius, Apuleius and Macrobius also use it, often in Greek letters.^[6]

Medieval Latin used it of the archetype or form, of what conforms to the idea, and of something perfect or ideal, as when Abelard is said to posit ideas in emulation of Plato.^[7][8] English idea is recorded in the late 14th century, first of an archetype or the concept of a thing in the mind of God.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses the Greek word.^[5][3]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca the Younger uses it in Latin.^[4][3]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it in his work on Plato.^[6][3]
• late 14th century – English idea is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Platonic philosophy) An idea, eternal archetype.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A form, pattern; an ideal.^[7][8]

Word family

• ideālis

Related words

• English idea

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b 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
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com