Etymologically
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lethargia

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [leˈtar.d͡ʒi.a], [leˈtar.d͡ʒi.a][1]

Forms

lēthārgia f (genitive lēthārgiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ληθαργία (lēthargía, “drowsiness, forgetfulness”), from λήθαργος (lḗthargos, “forgetful”).[2][1][3] Etymonline traces it further to λήθη (lḗthē, “forgetting”).[4] Pliny Valerianus says it is named from forgetfulness of mind and wandering of the body.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Caelius Aurelianus uses it in his work on acute diseases.[6][7] Köbler dates him to the 5th century AD and names Pliny the Elder as a source, but Georges notes that the text of Pliny now reads lethargo.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

It was a medical term for lethargy or drowsiness, the same as lethargus.[2][8] Caelius Aurelianus defines it as a delirium with acute and dangerous fevers.[5]

Alcuin uses it of a sluggard pinned to his bed by lethargy rather than sleep, and a glossary lists it with apoplexy and spasm.[9] Medieval Latin also spelled it litargia, the source of English lethargy, recorded in the late 14th century.[4][3]

Timeline

  • 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it.[6][3]
  • 2nd half of the 8th century – Alcuin uses it of a sluggard.[9][3]
  • late 14th century – English lethargy is recorded as litarge.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (medicine) lethargy, drowsiness.[2][1]

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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b 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