indivisibilis

Forms

indīvīsibilis (neuter indīvīsibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in-² (“not”) + dīvīsibilis (“divisible”),^[3][4] the adjective of possibility made from dīvidō (“to divide”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it from Tertullian on;^[3] in his treatise De anima he calls the soul indivisible, anima indivisibilis.^[1][3]

Semantic evolution

A post-classical word,^[1] it was used by the grammarian Diomedes of matter and by Isidore of Seville.^[1][2] Bede uses it to explain the Greek word for the smallest, undividable unit of time,^[5] and in medieval philosophy and theology it became a common term for what cannot be divided, applied to unity and to God and the Trinity.^[5][6] Thomas Aquinas distinguishes several ways in which a thing can be called indivisible.^[7] Medieval Latin also used it for inseparable,^[8][5] and in charters for property held undivided in common.^[9][6]

English borrowed the word in the early 15th century, from Old French and directly from Late Latin.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian calls the soul indivisible.^[1][3][4]
• second half of the 4th century AD – The grammarian Diomedes applies it to matter.^[1][4]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it in the Etymologiae.^[1][4]
• first third of the 8th century AD – Bede uses it of the smallest unit of time.^[5][4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as indivisible.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Indivisible, that cannot be divided into parts.^[1][2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) Inseparable.^[8][5]
3. (Medieval Latin, of land or property) Held undivided in common.^[9][6]
4. (Medieval Latin, as a neuter noun) An indivisible entity.^[6]

Related words

• dīvidō
• English indivisible

Usage notes

The adverb is indīvīsibiliter, “indivisibly”, also first found in Tertullian.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
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. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com