Etymologically
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insigniter

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈsɪŋ.nɪ.tɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈsiɲ.ɲi.ter][1]

Forms

īnsigniter (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin īnsignis (“conspicuous, remarkable”) + -ter, the adverb of the adjective.[2][1] The adjective is derived from signum (“mark, sign”),[3] which goes back to Proto-Italic *sekno- (“statue, sign”) and Proto-Indo-European *sek(h₂)-no- (“cut”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,[4] who in the Partitiones oratoriae speaks of parents, friends and guests as to be loved “especially and markedly”.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it means “markedly, conspicuously”;[2] later it is used of what is done in a striking manner or with distinction, as when Quintilian quotes a remarkable saying of Africanus.[2] The OLD records a comparative īnsignius.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in the sense “markedly”.[2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a strikingly worded saying.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Markedly, conspicuously.[2][1]
  2. In a striking manner, remarkably, with distinction.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de