- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- Ulpian
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (veniō)
Pronunciation
Forms
interventiō f (genitive interventiōnis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is from interveniō “to come between, intervene” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's first source is Ulpian, whom he dates before 223 AD, and the Digest uses it of standing surety.[4][5][6]
Semantic evolution
In law it meant an intervention as a surety, an interposing, a giving of security.[2][5][6] Lewis & Short call it post-classical.[5]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant intervention, intercession.[7] In Medieval Latin it meant intercession, and presence, interference.[8] British Medieval Latin used it for intercession with God or with a person.[9] It gave English intervention in the early 15th century, “intercession, intercessory prayer”.[3]
Timeline
- before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of surety.[4][6]
- early 15th century – English intervention is recorded.[3]
Meanings
Noun
- (law) A standing surety.[2]
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) Intercession, intervention.[7][8]
Related words
- interveniō
- veniō
- English intervention
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ 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
Borrowed into
- English intervention
Cite this entry
“Interventio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/interventio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·