Etymologically
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meditullium

Etymology and origin of the Latin word meditullium

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (medius,tellūs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [mɛ.dɪˈtʊl.li.ũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [me.diˈtul.li.um][1]

Forms

meditullium n (genitive meditulliī or meditullī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from medius “middle” and ⟨*tollium⟩, an old form related to tellūs “earth”, though the details are unclear.[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero, and Gaffiot cites his Topica.[4][5] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant the inland part of a country, the interior, as in Cicero, and the midpoint, middle, centre, as in Apuleius and Jerome, and Lewis & Short call it ante- and post-classical.[2][6][5]

British Medieval Latin used it for the midland of a country.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[2][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of the middle.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The interior of a country.[2]
  2. The middle, centre.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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
Cite this entry

“Meditullium.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/meditullium. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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