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monitio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word monitio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*mon-eie-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin moneo
Latin commoneo
Latin admoneo
Latin admonitio
Latin admonitus
Latin monumentum
Latin monitio
Latin monitus
Latin praemoneo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [mɔˈnɪ.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [moˈnit.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

monitiō f (genitive monitiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin moneō (“to remind, warn”) + -tiō.[2][3][1][4] De Vaan traces moneō to Proto-Italic *moneje- and Proto-Indo-European *mon-eie- (“to make think of, remind”).[5] Cognate with Sanskrit मानयति (mānáyati, “to honour, respect”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[6] who says that admonition should be free from harshness, and rebuke from insult.[7]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of advising or warning, an admonition;[2] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.[7] Festus distinguishes it from obiūrgātiō: rebuke is chastisement after a shameful act, admonition comes before the offence.[7][3] Seneca, Columella and Suetonius use it, Columella of a reminder of duty.[7] Döderlein contrasts it with hortātiō: exhortation appeals to the will, admonition to the understanding and judgment.[8] Church Latin has it as admonition, warning, reminder.[9] In medieval texts it is a summons, a claim, and a military campaign.[10] English monition (c. 1400) came from it, partly through Old French.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of admonition between friends.[7][6]
  • 1st century AD – Columella, of a reminder of duty.[7][6]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius.[7][6]
  • c. 1400 – English monition.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An admonition, warning, advice;[2][7][1] a reminder.[7][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A summons; a claim; a military campaign.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Monitio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/monitio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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