infirmaria

Forms

īnfirmāria f (genitive īnfirmāriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin īnfirmus (“weak, sick”) + -āria.^[1][2] The DMLBS treats it as the feminine of īnfirmārius “of the infirmary” used as a noun.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Medieval Latin word,^[4][2] it is first recorded in 1130, according to Köbler,^[4] for the sick quarters of a monastery.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was above all the monastic word for the room or house where sick monks and nuns were cared for,^[5][6] and it then came to mean a hospital in general.^[1][7][8] Late medieval sources also use it for the nun in charge of the infirmary.^[4][6][8] The spellings īnfirmēria and firmāria occur beside it.^[4][5]

English infirmary (mid-15th century, first “sick bay in a monastery”) comes from Old French and directly from this Medieval Latin word.^[2]

Timeline

• 1130 – First recorded, for a monastic infirmary.^[4][5]
• 1191 – A Glastonbury charter assigns payments to the infirmary.^[3]
• 1304 – A Pomeranian charter mentions an infirmary.^[8]
• 1415 – It is recorded for the nun in charge of the infirmary.^[4]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as infirmary.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) The infirmary of a monastery.^[5][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) A hospital.^[1][7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) The nun in charge of a monastery's infirmary.^[4][6][8]

Related words

• infirmus
• English infirmary

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
7. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
8. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl