irreverentia

Forms

irreverentia f (genitive irreverentiae); first declension^[1] The spelling inreverentia is also found.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin irreverēns (“disrespectful”) + -ia.^[2][1] The TLL analyses it instead as in- and reverentia (“respect”).^[3] Both go back to revereor (“to stand in awe of”), a compound of vereor (“to be wary of, fear”), which continues Proto-Italic *wer-ē- (“to be wary”) and Proto-Indo-European *u(e)r-eh₁- (“to note, sense”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Tacitus and Pliny the Younger on.^[3] In the Histories Tacitus writes of the victors' disregard for right and wrong alike.^[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Tacitus also uses it of the insolence of the young and of a disrespect that had grown strong with freedom.^[5][7] Pliny the Younger speaks of the neglect of studies, irreverentia studiōrum.^[5][6] The Vulgate has it several times in Sirach, of irreverent speech.^[5][7]

It stayed in Christian and medieval Latin for irreverence, especially towards God, the Church and its orders;^[8][9] it is the source of Italian irriverenza.^[6]

Timeline

• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of disregard for right and wrong.^[3][10]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Sirach.^[5][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Lack of due respect, irreverence, disrespect.^[2][5]
2. Neglect, disregard (of a pursuit).^[5][6]
3. (Vulgate) Profanity, irreverent talk.^[5]

Related words

• irreverēns
• reverentia

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de