incisivus

Forms

incīsīvus (feminine incīsīva, neuter incīsīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin incīdō² (“to cut into”) + -īvus.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Matthaeus Platearius, before 1161;^[2] a medical glossary ascribed to him calls a substance biting or caustic.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Wiktionary dates the word from the 12th century.^[1] The MLW records it for what is suited to cutting or sharp (the horns of a serpent, a heron's beak), for the front teeth, for what is biting or caustic in medicine, and for what relates to felling, with a neuter noun for a caustic remedy.^[3] British sources have the senses of cutting and penetrating and use it of the incisor teeth, also as a masculine noun,^[4] as do Polish ones.^[5] English incisive (early 15th century) is from Old French and directly from the Medieval Latin word.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1161 – Matthaeus Platearius uses it of a biting substance.^[2][3]
• 1st half of the 13th century – Caesarius of Heisterbach compares a serpent's horns to a two-edged sword.^[3][2]
• 1246 – Frederick II, on the art of hunting with birds, describes the beak of herons.^[3][2]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as incisive.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Suited to cutting, sharp.^[3][4]
2. (of teeth) Cutting, incisor.^[3][4][5]
3. (medicine) Biting, caustic.^[3]
4. Relating to felling.^[3]

Noun

1. (neuter) A caustic remedy.^[3]
2. (masculine) An incisor tooth.^[4]

Related words

• incīsor
• incīsiō
• English incisive

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com