impossibilitas

Forms

impossibilitās f (genitive impossibilitātis); third declension^[1] Also spelled inpossibilitās.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is from Latin impossibilis (“impossible”) + -tās,^[2][1] itself formed from possibilis (“possible”), from possum (“to be able”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apuleius, in the Metamorphoses, has Psyche turned to stone by the impossibility of her task.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it post-classical; after Apuleius it is found in Tertullian's treatise on baptism.^[4][5]

In medieval Latin it meant both impossibility, or a thing that cannot be done,^[6][7] and a person's inability or incapacity to do something, weakness.^[8][6][9] Conte gives this Late Latin word as the source of Italian impossibilità,^[10] and it has descendants in the other Romance languages too, such as French impossibilité and Spanish imposibilidad.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of Psyche's impossible task.^[2][3]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in his treatise on baptism.^[4][5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Impossibility.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) An impossible thing or task.^[6][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) Inability, incapacity, weakness.^[8][6][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
10. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier