Etymologically
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ministra

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [mɪˈnɪs.tra], [mɪˈnɪs.traː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [miˈnis.tra], [miˈnis.tra][1]

Forms

ministra f (genitive ministrae, masculine minister); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine of minister (“servant, attendant”).[2][1] De Vaan derives minister from Proto-Italic *minos-tero-, built on the comparative minor (“smaller, less”), which he traces to Proto-Indo-European *meih₁-iōs- (“less”).[3] Cognate with Oscan minstreis (“smaller”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Laevius.[4] The OLD's first examples are Catullus' “servant of the gods and handmaid of Cybele” and Varro's Ceres, provider of food.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a female servant or attendant, as Virgil's Italian women chosen by Camilla as her helpers in peace and war, and a woman dedicated to the service of a deity, as Propertius' servant of the turreted goddess and Statius' attendants of Vesta.[2] The TLL notes that some writers distinguish it from ancilla, others not.[5] Figuratively it is used of things: Cicero calls false accusation the bitterest servant of the praetors' greed.[2] It also means one who assists in an action, an accomplice, as Valerius Flaccus' Rumour, and a provider.[2][1] In Christian use it is a deaconess, first in a letter of Pliny the Younger to Trajan.[2]

Timeline

  • 2nd/1st century BC – Laevius uses it.[4]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a servant of Cybele.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of false accusation as the servant of greed.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of Camilla's companions.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A female servant or attendant, a maid.[2][6][1]
  2. A woman dedicated to the service of a deity;[2][5] (Christianity) a deaconess.[2][5]
  3. Of things, a servant or instrument.[2]
  4. A woman who assists in an action, an aide, an accomplice.[2][1]
  5. A provider.[2]

Word family

  • praeministra

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press