Etymologically
Log in

momentaneus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word momentaneus

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 160–220 AD, Tertullian
Ultimate origin
Latin mōmentum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [moː.mɛnˈtaː.ne.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [mo.menˈtaː.ne.us][1]

Forms

mōmentāneus (feminine mōmentānea, neuter mōmentāneum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the ablative mōmentō (“in a moment”), used as an adverb, on the model of temporāneus (“timely”), according to the TLL, which follows Leumann.[2] Wiktionary derives it from mōmentum (“motion, movement”) and the suffix -āneus.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Old Latin Bible as Tertullian quotes it, in the phrase in momentaneo motu oculi, “in the brief movement of an eye”; the Vulgate has in momento there.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is a word of the Christian writers,[2][4] meaning momentary, lasting a short time, and often set against what is eternal.[2] In the Vulgate the tribulation of the present is momentaneum et leve, brief and light.[4][2] Fulgentius speaks of a brief happiness.[4]

Medieval writers kept the sense “short-lived” for earthly life as opposed to eternal life,[5][6] and used it for what happens in an instant, as Aldhelm does in a letter of 671.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian quotes it from the Old Latin Bible and uses it of a brief burning.[2][4][3]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of the changes of fortune.[4][3]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate calls present tribulation momentaneum.[4][3]
  • c. 500 AD – Fulgentius speaks of a felicitas momentanea.[4][3]
  • 671 – Aldhelm uses it of what happens in a single moment.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Brief, momentary, passing, as opposed to what is eternal.[4][2][8][6]
  2. Instantaneous, happening in a moment.[7][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b c 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
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Momentaneus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/momentaneus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·