Etymologically
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industrie

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Forms

industriē (comparative industrius); adverb[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin industrius (“diligent, industrious”) + -ē.[1][2][3] Köbler also records a form ⟨industrē⟩.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in a speech of Cato the Elder,[3][4][2] meaning diligently or with zeal.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it means diligently, assiduously, with application.[1][5][2] Caesar pairs it with dīligenter,[2] and Quintilian uses it as well.[6][7] In a passage of Cicero's speech On his House the best manuscripts read illūstrius instead, according to Georges,[2] while Conte cites the passage for this adverb.[4]

The classical sense continued in medieval Latin: William of Malmesbury writes that Fulk did many things diligently and many things excellently.[8] In Poland and Hungary it also meant skilfully or ingeniously.[9][10]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in a speech.[3][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar writes dīligenter industriēque.[2][3]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.[6][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Diligently, assiduously, with zeal.[1][6][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Skilfully, ingeniously.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ 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. ^ Simpson, D. P. (1959), Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, London: Cassell
  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
  9. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  10. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl