indigentia

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ɪn.dɪˈɡɛn.ti.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [in.diˈd͡ʒɛn.t͡si.a]^[1]

Forms

indigentia f (genitive indigentiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin indigēns (“needy”) + -ia, from indigeō “to need”, from ⟨indu-⟩ and egeō “to lack”.^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨egeō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-es- (“lack, need”), cognate with Oscan ⟨egmo⟩ “matter” and Old Norse ekla (“lack”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero.^[4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant need, want, a condition lacking something necessary, and a sense of need, insatiable desire, as in Cicero's Laelius and Tusculans, and Lewis & Short call it rare and mostly Ciceronian.^[2][5][6]

Medieval Latin used it for lack, shortage, hardship, famine.^[7] English indigence (late 14th century) is from it.^[8]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[6][4]
• late 14th century – English indigence is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Need, want, indigence.^[2][5]
2. Insatiable desire.^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin) Shortage, famine.^[7]

Related words

• indigeō
• egeō
• indigus
• English indigence

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com