impatienter

Forms

impatienter (comparative impatientius, superlative impatientissimē)^[1] It is also spelled ⟨inpatienter⟩.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin impatiēns (“unable to endure”) + -ter.^[2][1][3] Wiktionary also allows a formation from in- and patienter (“patiently”).^[1] The base goes back to patior (“to suffer, endure”), whose further origin de Vaan finds unclear.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and the TLL find it first in Tacitus,^[5][6] who uses the comparative in the Germania of fearing captivity far less patiently.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

It means without being able to bear a situation, impatiently.^[2][8] Tacitus has impatienter indoluit, of resentment that was not held back,^[6][9] and Pliny the Younger writes that he misses a friend as impatiently as he once loved him ardently.^[6] Apuleius uses it of thirsting impatiently, and the Christian writers Tertullian and Cyprian of bearing things without patience.^[6] Vopiscus has lactucis impatienter indulsit, of indulging in lettuce without restraint.^[7][6] In the Codex Theodosianus it comes close to “too hastily”.^[6]

Medieval Latin used it for impatiently, with undue haste, and for reluctantly or with dislike.^[10] British writers used it for impatiently and intolerantly.^[11]

Timeline

• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the comparative in the Germania.^[6][5]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of thirsting impatiently.^[6][5]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in his treatise on patience.^[6][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Without being able to bear (a situation), impatiently.^[2][8]
2. (Late Latin) Too hastily.^[6][10]
3. (Medieval Latin) Reluctantly, with dislike.^[10]

Related words

• impatiēns
• impatientia
• patienter

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ 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