infinitivus

Forms

īnfīnītīvus (feminine īnfīnītīva, neuter īnfīnītīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin īnfīnītus (“unlimited, indefinite”) + -īvus,^[1][2] and the noun is used elliptically for the infinitive mood, with modus (“mood”) understood.^[1] Wiktionary takes it as a loose rendering of Ancient Greek ἀπαρέμφατος (aparémphatos), “not indicated”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A term of the Latin grammarians, it is found with certainty from Charisius on, according to the TLL;^[2] Köbler dates Charisius to about AD 362.^[3] It names the verb form that is not limited by person or number.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Diomedes, Martianus Capella, Priscian and Isidore of Seville use it for the infinitive, as an adjective with modus or as a noun on its own.^[4][6][7] The TLL notes that manuscripts often confuse it with īnfīnītus.^[2] Medieval grammarians kept the term;^[8][9] it was also used in the wider sense of unlimited or innumerable.^[10][8]

English took it over as an adjective in the mid-15th century and as the noun infinitive in the 1510s.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 362 AD – Charisius uses it as a grammatical term.^[2][3]
• second half of the 4th century AD – Diomedes uses modus infinitivus.^[6][3]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella uses it as a noun.^[4][3]
• 6th century AD – Priscian uses it.^[6][3]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as an adjective.^[5]
• 1510s – The English noun infinitive appears.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (grammar) Infinitive: modus īnfīnītīvus, the infinitive mood.^[4][6][11]
2. (Medieval Latin) Unlimited, indefinite; innumerable.^[10][8]

Noun

1. (grammar) The infinitive.^[4][7][1]

Related words

• infinitus
• finitivus
• English infinitive

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier