magnificatio

Forms

magnificātiō f (genitive magnificātiōnis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin magnificō (“to esteem highly, extol”), a noun of action formed with the suffix -tiō.^[3][1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 4th century: Hilary of Poitiers (c. 315–367/368 AD)^[4] uses it of praise,^[3] and the undated De schematis dianoeas ascribed to Julius Rufinianus says that irony mocks under the appearance of praise (specie magnificationis).^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant praise or extolling, the making much of someone:^[3][1] Hilary of Poitiers uses it,^[3] Augustine sets it beside laus,^[3] and Macrobius has the varied praise of different persons (personarum varia magnificatio).^[3][1]

Medieval writers used it for glorification,^[5] often in a theological sense:^[6] for Thomas Aquinas it is the final stage of predestination, after calling and justification, but also undue self-importance.^[7] English took it over as magnification in the early 15th century, in the sense of making larger.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary of Poitiers uses it.^[3][4]
• early 5th century AD – Macrobius writes of the varied praise of different persons.^[3][1][4]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as magnification.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Praise, extolling, a making much of someone.^[3][1][9]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Glorification.^[5][6][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) Undue self-importance.^[7]

Related words

• magnificō
• magnificus
• English magnification

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
6. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
7. ^ a b c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.