insectum

Forms

īnsectum n (genitive īnsectī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of the adjective īnsectus (“indented, notched”),^[2][1] the past participle of īnsecō¹ (“to cut into”).^[2][3] The word is a calque of Ancient Greek ἔντομον (éntomon, “insect”), Aristotle's term for these animals, which refers to their “notched” bodies;^[4][1] Pliny the Elder made the loan-translation.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Pliny the Elder's Natural History, book 11, meaning an insect.^[5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Gaffiot enters it under the plural, īnsecta, “insects”.^[6] English took it as insect about 1600; its first English use is in 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny.^[4]

Timeline

• AD 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder uses it for insects.^[5][6][3]
• 1601 – English insect first appears, in Holland's translation of Pliny.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An insect.^[2][6][5]

Related words

• English insect

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.