Etymologically
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militaris

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [miː.lɪˈtaː.rɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [mi.liˈtaː.ris][1]

Forms

mīlitāris (neuter mīlitāre, adverb mīlitāriter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mīles (“soldier”) + -āris.[2][1] De Vaan finds the first part of mīles unclear, though it is tempting to connect it with mīlia “thousands”, as one who goes with a thousand.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus speaks of militaris disciplina, military discipline, and of officers' sons as militares pueri.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It meant of the army, its customs and activities, as Cicero's military laws and Caesar's res militaris “the art of war”.[2][5] Of age it meant fit for service, as Sallust's “you who are of military age”, and of persons serving and experienced, as Sallust's homo militaris, a seasoned soldier.[2][5]

As a noun it meant a soldier, in Curtius.[6] In medieval Latin it meant knightly, homo militaris a knight, militaris ordo knighthood, and a knight's fief.[7][1] English military was borrowed in the mid-15th century.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of military discipline.[2][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses res militaris.[5][6]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of military age and of a seasoned soldier.[2][5][6]
  • 1st century AD – Curtius uses it as a noun.[6]
  • mid-15th century – English military is borrowed.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Military, of the army or of war.[2][1]
  2. Of military age.[2]
  3. Serving as a soldier; experienced in war.[2]
  4. Of a soldier or soldiers.[2][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Of a knight, knightly.[7]

Noun

  1. A soldier, (Medieval Latin) a knight.[1][6]

Word family

  • mīlitāria
  • mīles
  • mīlitāriter
  • mīlitia
  • mīlitō
  • English military

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com