incarnatio

Forms

incarnātiō f (genitive incarnātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of action from Latin incarnō (“to make flesh”) + -tiō.^[2][3][1] The verb incarnō is formed from in-¹ and carō² (“flesh”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it first in the Latin Irenaeus, Gaudentius and Filastrius, of Christ's taking on flesh; the Latin Irenaeus speaks of those who despise the incarnation of the Word of God.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It was coined by the Church writers for the Incarnation of Christ.^[2][4] Ambrose defines it, Augustine uses it often, and treatises titled “On the Incarnation” were written by Ambrose and Fulgentius.^[2] It was central to the refutation of heresies, as in Augustine against the Patripassians and Cassian against Nestorius.^[2]

In Medieval Latin, dates were reckoned from the Incarnation (anno incarnationis, anno ab incarnatione),^[5][6][7] and the word also meant human nature and, in medicine, the growth of new flesh.^[7] It gave Italian incarnazione^[8] and, through Old French, English incarnation about 1300.^[4]

Timeline

• 4th century AD – Gaudentius uses it of the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God.^[2][9]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose defines it.^[2][9]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it in the City of God.^[2][9]
• 7th–8th century – The Liber diurnus speaks of the mystery of the Incarnation against Nestorius.^[7][9]
• c. 1300 – English borrows it as incarnacioun.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Incarnation, Christ's taking on of flesh.^[2][5][10]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Embodiment; the union of the divine and the human.^[10]
3. (Medieval Latin) The era of the Incarnation, used in dating.^[5][6][7]
4. (Medieval Latin) Human nature.^[7]
5. (Medieval Latin, medicine) The growth of new flesh.^[7]

Related words

• English incarnation

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson