irregularitas

Forms

irrēgulāritās f (genitive irrēgulāritātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin irrēgulāris + -tās,^[1][2] a medieval formation.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first record to about 1200.^[2] Among the DMLBS quotations, Peter of Blois uses it in a letter for a departure from the natural order: the irregularity of death that upsets the expected sequence.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Its general sense was any deviation from a rule or norm,^[3][4] used in natural philosophy for uneven motion: Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas speak of the irregularities of the planets' motion.^[5][6] The most frequent use was in canon law, where it named an impediment that barred a person from receiving holy orders or from exercising them.^[7][8][9] Du Cange calls this a common word in that sense.^[7] Monastic writers also used it of conduct against the rule of the order, or unfitness for the monastic life.^[5]

Neo-Latin authors kept the physical sense: Antonio Galateo speaks of the irregularities of the earth's surface, and Giordano Bruno of reducing irregularity to geometric regularity.^[10] English took the word in the early 14th century, first for a breach of the rules on admission to clerical office.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – First record in medieval Latin.^[2]
• 1279 – A Hungarian synod warns that a priest who blesses the ordeal of hot iron incurs “the snare of irregularity” if death or mutilation follows.^[9]
• early 14th century – Borrowed into English as irregularity, for a violation of the rules for admission to clerical office.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) Deviation from the norm, irregularity, unevenness.^[3][5][10]
2. (Medieval Latin, canon law) A canonical impediment barring a person from receiving or exercising holy orders.^[7][8][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Conduct contrary to a monastic rule; unfitness for the monastic life.^[5]
4. (Medieval Latin) Lawlessness; wickedness.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d 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
4. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
5. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
7. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
10. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com