indomitabilis

Forms

indomitābilis (neuter indomitābile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in-² (“not”) + domitō (“to tame”) + -bilis,^[2][3] through an unattested *domitābilis, according to Etymonline, which takes domitō as the frequentative of domō (“to tame”).^[3] Lewis & Short and Jeanneau relate it instead to indomitus “untamed”.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient record is in chapter 30 of a treatise on penance, which Lewis & Short attribute to Victor of Tunnuna and Gaffiot to Ambrose;^[1][5] Köbler lists it under Pseudo-Ambrose and dates it, with a query, to the 6th century AD.^[2] There it means “that cannot be subdued”.^[1][5]

Semantic evolution

It belonged to Ecclesiastical Latin.^[1][6] In the Latin of medieval and early modern Hungary it described what cannot be checked or conquered, as a warlike people.^[7] The DMLBS files it under the older indomabilis.^[8]

English took it over in the 1630s as indomitable, “that cannot be tamed”; the sense “unyielding, resolute” of people is from about 1830.^[3]

Timeline

• 6th century AD (?) – A treatise on penance ascribed to Ambrose uses it.^[2][1]
• 1630s – English borrows it as indomitable.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) That cannot be subdued or tamed, indomitable.^[1][6][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) That cannot be conquered or held back.^[7]

Related words

• indomitus
• domō
• English indomitable

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
8. ^ 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