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litigatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word litigatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
354–430 AD, Augustine
Ultimate origin
Latin lītigō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin litigo
Italian litigare
Latin litigatio
English litigation
From the same root
Latin litigator ← litigo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [liː.tɪˈɡaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [li.tiˈɡat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

lītigātiō f (genitive lītigātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lītigō (“to go to law, dispute”) + -tiō,[2][3][4] a verb from līs (“lawsuit, dispute”) and agō (“to drive, conduct”).[4] De Vaan traces līs to Proto-Italic *slī-ti- (“accusation, dispute”) and, with a question mark, Proto-Indo-European *sliH-ti-.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sure use is in a sermon of Augustine, of the quarrel with the Donatists, in the sense of a dispute.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

An earlier example in Lactantius is doubtful, since other manuscripts read litigatoribus there.[3][6] Glossaries render it with Greek “a fight in words” and with causatio.[7][3]

In Medieval Latin it was a lawsuit or litigation, in the capitularies and in English and Hungarian records,[8][9][10][11] and also a quarrel or argument in general.[10] English litigation (1640s) comes from it.[4]

Timeline

  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of a dispute.[2][12]
  • 507–877 – The capitularies use it for a lawsuit.[9][12]
  • 1640s – Borrowed into English as litigation.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dispute, quarrel.[2][3][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A lawsuit, legal proceedings.[8][10][11]

Usage notes

Döderlein groups it with disceptatio and controversia as disputes settled calmly and in an orderly way, unlike contentio, altercatio and iurgium, which are carried on with passion but stay verbal, and rixa, a brawl that comes or threatens to come to blows.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Liber exquisiti xenii: Lexikon frühmittelalterlicher Rechtswörter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  10. ^ a b c 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
  11. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  12. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  13. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Litigatio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/litigatio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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