Etymologically
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insectum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈsɛk.tũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈsɛk.tum][1]

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]

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.