mediatio

Forms

mediātiō f (genitive mediātiōnis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin mediō (“to be in the middle; to halve”) + -tiō,^[3][1][4] and is a Late Latin word.^[5] The verb comes from medius (“middle”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Augustine,^[3][1][7] who asks in the City of God what use the friendly mediation of demons would be to men if it brought them no benefit.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Christian Latin it was used of intercession and intervention between parties, Augustine applying it to Aaron's standing between Moses and Pharaoh,^[3] and medieval theologians to the mediation of Christ between God and men.^[4]

Medieval Latin kept the general sense of intervention,^[8][5] and in law it meant mediation between parties to bring about a settlement.^[9][10] It also meant a halving, one of the arithmetical operations,^[11] and a negotiation.^[11] In astronomy Roger Bacon used it of the sun or a planet coming between the points of a sign.^[5] In music theory from the 13th century it named the middle cadence of a psalm verse.^[12]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of intervention and intercession.^[3][1][13]
• 825 – The Council of Paris uses it of the mediation that the Greeks claimed for images.^[4]
• 1243 – Robert Grosseteste writes that an archbishop exercises his office through the mediation of his suffragan bishops.^[5]
• 13th century – Music theorists use it for the middle cadence in psalmody.^[12]
• late 14th century – Borrowed into English as mediation.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) mediation, intercession, intervention.^[3][1][14]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The mediation of Christ between God and humankind.^[4]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) Mediation between parties to bring about agreement.^[9][10]
4. (Medieval Latin) A negotiation.^[11]
5. (Medieval Latin, arithmetic) A halving.^[11]
6. (Medieval Latin, music) The middle cadence of a psalm verse.^[12]

Related words

• medius
• English mediation

Usage notes

Manuscripts often write mediatio where meditatio “meditation” is meant.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
5. ^ a b c d 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
10. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
11. ^ a b c d 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
12. ^ a b c Lexicon musicum Latinum medii aevi (1992–), Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; online ed. Wörterbuchnetz
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
14. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson