itineror

Forms

itineror (present infinitive itinerārī, perfect active itinerātus sum); first conjugation, deponent^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin iter (“journey”), built on its stem ⟨itiner-⟩.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the 4th century: Ambrose has the participle itinerantēs “travellers”,^[2][3] and Augustine speaks in “On Music” of the need to travel (itinerandi necessitas).^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant “to travel”, and a glossary renders it with Ancient Greek ὁδοιπορέω (hodoiporéō).^[2] The present participle used as a noun, itinerantēs, “travellers”, is found in Ambrose, Augustine and Salvian.^[2][3] It is listed as an Ecclesiastical Latin verb.^[4] The English verb itinerate, from about 1600, is traced by Etymonline to the Late Latin past participle itinerātus.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses the participle itinerantēs for travellers.^[2][3][6]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the verb in “On Music”.^[3][6]
• 435/439 AD – Salvian uses the participle itinerantēs.^[2][3][6]
• c. 1600 – English forms itinerate from the past participle.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Late Latin) To travel, journey.^[2][3][4]

Related words

• English itinerant
• English itinerary

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de