Etymologically
Log in

maestitia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 19:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [mae̯sˈtɪ.ti.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [mesˈtit.t͡si.a][1]

Forms

maestitia f (genitive maestitiae); first declension[1] Also spelled moestitia.[2]

Etymology

It is from maestus “sad” with the suffix -itia, like trīstitia.[3][1][4] ⟨Maestus⟩ is related to maereō “to grieve”, which de Vaan reconstructs as Proto-Italic *mais- (“sad, grief”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus.[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It was sadness, sorrow, grief, dejection, and a source of grief, as in Plautus and Cicero; and of things dullness, gloom, as in Columella.[3][2]

British Medieval Latin used it for sadness, grief, sorrow, as in Bede.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[2][6]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of gloom.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sadness, sorrow, dejection.[3]
  2. Dullness, gloom.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ 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