inscriptio

Forms

īnscrīptiō f (genitive īnscrīptiōnis); third declension^[1] The manuscripts of the Theodosian Code often write -scribt-.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin īnscrībō (“to write on”) + -tiō.^[3][1][2] De Vaan traces scrībō to Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- (“to carve”) and Proto-Indo-European *skreibʰ-e/o- (“to carve”), comparing Oscan scriftas (“written”) and Umbrian screhto (“written”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it first in Ennius,^[2] whose tragedy asks what inscription will be given when the spoils of a family have been stripped away.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of writing on something or inscribing, and the branding of slaves: Cicero asks whether putting a name on his property is anything but the plundering of his goods.^[3][5] It is an inscribed legend or inscription, as on monuments, and the title of a book: Cicero tells Atticus that a fuller title would be Dē officiīs.^[3][5] It is also the label worn by a slave put up for sale, which Pliny the Younger uses of a slave's chief skill.^[3] In law it is the laying of a charge, an accusation.^[3] In Medieval Latin it is a bill of indictment, the address of a letter, a subscription, a deed and a description.^[6] English inscription appears in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius of an inscription for stripped spoils.^[3][2][8]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of the title of a book.^[3][5][8]
• late 14th century – English inscription.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A writing on, inscribing; the branding of slaves.^[3][5]
2. An inscription; the title of a book.^[3][5][1][9]
3. A slave's sale label.^[3]
4. (law) An accusation, charge;^[3][6] (Medieval Latin) a bill of indictment.^[3][6]
5. (Medieval Latin) The address of a letter; a deed.^[6]

Related words

• īnscrībō
• English inscription

References

1. ^ a b c 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 f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson