indeterminatus

Forms

indēterminātus (feminine indētermināta, neuter indēterminātum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in- + dēterminātus,^[1][2][3] the latter being the past participle of dēterminō (“to bound, limit”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD)^[3] uses it in De praescriptione haereticorum (33) of genealogies without end.^[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Cassiodorus applies it to fields without fixed boundaries, and Chalcidius, in his commentary on the Timaeus, and Boethius, in his Arithmetic, use it as a philosophical term for what is indefinite.^[2]

In Medieval Latin it meant not bounded, unspecified or vague; in philosophy undefined or not predetermined; and also unfinished.^[6] A Livonian charter of 1225 uses it of small uncultivated plots left beside cultivated land,^[6] and Bracton of villein services that are uncertain and unfixed.^[7] English borrowed it in the late 14th century.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian speaks of endless genealogies.^[4][3]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of fields without boundaries.^[2][3]
• 1225 – A Livonian charter uses it of unmarked plots of land.^[6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as indeterminate.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Unlimited, without end.^[4][5][1]
2. Undefined, indeterminate.^[2][1][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Not marked off by boundaries.^[6]
4. (Medieval Latin) Unspecified, imprecise, uncertain.^[6][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) Unfinished, not concluded.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e 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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d e f 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson