interceptio

Forms

interceptiō f (genitive interceptiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin intercipiō (“to intercept, take away”) + -tiō.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero is the first to use it, in the speech Pro Cluentio, of the taking away of a cup (interceptio poculi).^[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it very rare;^[5] after Cicero it appears in Hilary of Poitiers and Cassiodorus, and a gloss explains it as “deceit, fraud”.^[6][3]

In Medieval Latin it had a much wider range: the MLW records seizure and theft, the abduction of persons, the catching of something on its way, a reservation or condition in law, and interruption;^[7] the DMLBS has capture, interception and interruption,^[8] and Niermeyer an attack or an infringement of rights.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the taking away of a cup in the Pro Cluentio.^[2][4]
• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary of Poitiers uses it in his commentary on the Psalms.^[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cutting off of something from where it was going, interception; a taking away.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) Seizure, capture; theft; abduction.^[7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) An attack; an infringement or violation.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin, law) A reservation, condition.^[7]
5. (Medieval Latin) An interruption.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill