illustratio

Pronunciation

• Classical: [ɪl.luːsˈtra.ti.oː]^[1]
• Ecclesiastical: [il.lusˈtrat.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

illūstratiō f (genitive illūstratiōnis); third declension^[1] Also spelled ⟨inlūstrātiō⟩.^[2][3] Medieval spellings include ⟨illustracio⟩.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is from Latin illūstrō (“to light up; to make clear”) + -tiō.^[2][1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Quintilian is its first author: īnsequitur ἐνάργεια, quae ā Cicerōne illūstrātiō et ēvidentia nōminātur, “next comes enargeia, which Cicero calls illustratio and evidentia”, and which seems not so much to tell as to show.^[2][3][6][4] Georges thinks that Quintilian himself put the word in place of Cicero's perspicuitās.^[7]

Semantic evolution

After Quintilian the TLL finds it in the Itala.^[6] In its proper sense it was the act of lighting up, often nearly “light”: Chalcidius uses it of the light of the moon and of the rising of the sun and moon, and Gregory the Great says the moon receives its light from the rays of the sun.^[6][8] Figuratively it was an appearance or manifestation: the Itala renders the Greek word for epiphany with it, and the Vulgate says that Jesus will destroy the wicked one illūstrātiōne adventūs suī, by the brightness of his coming.^[6][7][8] It also meant splendour, the exalted state of a king,^[6][9] and the enlightenment of the soul, inspiration.^[6][9]

Medieval Latin used it for lighting and shining, for the restoration of sight, for an appearance or vision, and for explanation;^[5] in British sources the Holy Spirit kindles the hearts of the faithful by its illūstrātiō, as in a papal letter of about 693 and in Bede.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it for vivid representation.^[2][4]
• after 220 AD – The Itala uses it of the appearance of the glory of God.^[6][4]
• c. 300 AD – Chalcidius uses it of the light of the moon.^[6][4]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of the brightness of Christ's coming.^[6][7][4]
• c. 693 – A papal letter speaks of the illumination of the Holy Spirit.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rhetoric) Vivid representation, hypotyposis, rendering ἐνάργεια (enárgeia).^[2][3][11]
2. (Late Latin) A lighting up, illumination; light, brightness.^{[6][8][5][10]}
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An appearance, manifestation; the brightness (of Christ's coming).^[6][7][10]
4. (Late Latin) Splendour, glory, exalted position.^[6][9]
5. (Ecclesiastical Latin, Medieval Latin) Spiritual enlightenment, inspiration.^[6][9][10]
6. (Medieval Latin) A vision; an explanation; the restoration of sight.^[5]

Related words

• illūstris
• English illustration

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.