inspector
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Pronunciation
Forms
īnspector m (genitive īnspectōris, feminine īnspectrīx); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is from īnspiciō “to look into” with the agent suffix -tor.[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citation is from Seneca, “an observer”.[2] Köbler's first source is Seneca the Elder.[4]
Semantic evolution
It meant an observer, witness, as in Seneca, and in Ulpian and the Codex an examiner, inspector.[2][5] Lewis & Short note it is post-Augustan, and Augustine calls God the īnspector cordis “searcher of hearts”.[6][5]
British Medieval Latin used it for an onlooker, a reader or examiner of books, and a diviner, and Gildas uses it.[7] It gave English inspector about 1600, “overseer, superintendent”.[3]
Timeline
- 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.[2][4]
- before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of examiners.[2][4]
- c. 1600 – English inspector is recorded.[3]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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