Etymologically
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litania

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Forms

litanīa f (genitive litaniae); first declension; medieval spellings letania, laetania and latania.[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (litaneía, “prayer, entreaty”),[1][4][5] related to λιτανεύω (litaneúō, “to entreat, implore”).[2] Etymonline traces the Greek noun to a word for prayer of unknown origin.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Sidonius Apollinaris, in the sense of a public prayer to God, a litany.[1][7][2]

Semantic evolution

The Codex of Justinian has litanias facere, “to pray together”.[4] The Rule of Benedict uses the word, which a gloss renders rogatio, postulatio.[8]

In Medieval Latin it named a prayer of supplication with fixed responses, and also a solemn procession with chanting.[9][5] The litania major was the procession of Saint Mark's day, 25 April, as a record from Clovesho noted in 747 “after the rite of the Roman church”; the litania minor or plural litaniae were the three Rogation days before Ascension Day.[9][5] English took it around 1200 through Old French letanie and Medieval Latin letania.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it for public prayer.[1][2]
  • 529 AD – The Rule of Benedict uses the word.[8][2]
  • 747 – A record from Clovesho calls the procession of 25 April laetania major.[5]
  • c. 1200 – Borrowed into English as litany.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A public prayer of supplication; a litany.[1][10][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A solemn procession with chanting.[9][11]
  3. (Medieval Latin) litania major: the procession on Saint Mark's day, 25 April.[9][5]
  4. (Medieval Latin) litania minor, litaniae: the Rogation Days before Ascension.[9][5][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  11. ^ 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