ignitio

Forms

ignītiō f (genitive ignītiōnis); third declension^[1] Medieval texts also spell it ignicio.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin igniō + -tiō,^[1][4] the verb being made from ignis (“fire”).^[4] Köbler links it directly to the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a medieval word.^[2][5] Among the earliest writers to use it are the alchemist Geber (12th–13th century), for the glowing of metals in the fire,^[3][2] and Albertus Magnus (13th century), for heating.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

It was a technical word of natural philosophy, alchemy and medicine: heating, making something glow, catching fire, as in the explanations of lightning in the Salernitan questions,^[3][5] and the becoming red-hot of metals.^[3][5] Medical glossaries used it for redness of the face.^[3] Figuratively it meant ardour or fervour.^[3] Regional dictionaries add the sense of flame and of setting fire to something.^[6][7]

English took it over as ignition in the 17th century, from French or directly from Medieval Latin.^[4]

Timeline

• 12th–13th century – Geber writes of metals that melt with or without ignitio.^[3][2]
• 13th century – Albertus Magnus calls fire the cause of ignitio.^[3][2]
• 1610s – English borrows it as ignition.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) Heating, making glow; catching fire.^[3][5]
2. (Medieval Latin, alchemy) The becoming red-hot of a metal.^[3][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) Flame; kindling.^[6][7]
4. (Medieval Latin, figurative) Ardour, fervour.^[3]

Related words

• English ignition

References

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