Etymologically
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modulatio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [mɔ.dʊˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [mo.duˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

modulātiō f (genitive modulātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin modulor (“to measure, regulate”) + -tiō.[2][3][1] The verb is formed from modulus (“small measure”),[1] which de Vaan lists from Varro on among the derivatives of modus (“measure”);[4][3] Augustine already derived the noun from modus.[4][3] De Vaan traces modus to Proto-Italic *medo- (“measure, judgement”) and Proto-Indo-European *med-o- (“measure”), comparing Umbrian meřs (“law”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Vitruvius,[5][3] who writes that there are three kinds of modulationes in music, which the Greeks call harmonic, chromatic and diatonic.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Vitruvius uses it both of the musical modulation of tones and of calculating the measurements of a building from a standard unit.[2] Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan in its general sense of a regular measure, as in Gellius' modulatio incedendi, marching in time.[6] Quintilian applies it to rhythm, to the scansion of syllables and to the melody of the voice.[6] The TLL notes that it is found from Vitruvius and both Senecas on but that poets avoid it, except Ausonius and Martianus Capella;[3] Augustine said that the word almost contains the definition of music.[3] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means melody, singing or chanting,[7] and in medieval Latin melody.[8] English took modulation from it in the late 14th century, partly through Old French.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of musical modulation and of measurements.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of rhythm and of the melody of the voice.[6][5]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of marching in time.[6][5]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine derives it from modus and treats it as the essence of music.[3][5]
  • late 14th century – English borrows modulation.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A regular measure; rhythm, rhythmical measure.[6]
  2. Inflection of tone, modulation; melody, singing and playing.[2][6][7]
  3. Calculation of measurements from a standard unit.[2]
  • English modulation

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com