locator

Forms

locātor m (genitive locātōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin locō + -tor, an agent noun from the verb meaning “to place; to let out, hire out”.^[2][3][1] The verb is itself derived from locus (“place”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC) is the first author the OLD cites for it, in the speeches against Verres,^[2][4] where it means the lessor of a piece of land: a man is said to be neither the owner of the farm nor its lessor.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin the word belonged to the language of contracts: it named the party who lets out property for rent,^[2][5] and also the one who gives out a contract for work, as opposed to the contractor (conductor) who takes it on;^[2][6] Vitruvius says that an architect should be able to protect both.^[2][6] An inscription from Rome names a locator scaenicorum, who supplied actors and stage equipment for a fee.^[2][5] Firmicus Maternus applies it to those who hire out prostitutes.^[5][7]

In Medieval Latin it kept the sense of lessor or hirer^[8][9] and, in central Europe, took on a new one: the agent who, on a landowner's behalf, founded a village or town and brought settlers to it.^[10][11][12]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the lessor of a farm.^[2]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of the party who gives out a contract.^[2][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of the person who contracted for a funeral.^[2][4]
• 343/350 AD – Firmicus Maternus uses it of men who hire out prostitutes.^[5][4]
• 1343 – A Hungarian charter uses it of the founder and organiser of a settlement.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lessor, a person who lets out property.^[2][5]
2. A person who gives out a contract for work or services.^[2][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) The organiser of a rural colonisation, who founded a settlement and brought in settlers on a lord's behalf.^[10][11]

Word family

• locatorius

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
12. ^ 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