monogramma

Forms

monogramma n (genitive monogrammatis); third declension^[1][2] The ablative is monogrammate or monogrammā.^[3] Carolingian diplomas also spell it monograma.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μονόγραμμα (monógramma, “monogram”),^[1][5][6] from μόνος (mónos, “alone”) and γράμμα (grámma, “letter”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Paulinus of Nola, in one of his poems, for the monogram of Christ: a single character combining several letters.^[1][2][7]

Semantic evolution

It remained a word for the monogram of Christ,^[8] the chrismon that stood at the head of papal privileges and many other documents.^[4] A letter of 851 explains that the sign is called chrismon because it looks like a monogram of Christ's name.^[4]

In the Carolingian chanceries it became the monogram of the ruler's name, drawn at the foot of a diploma to validate it,^[4][8] and later the monogram of any person's name.^[8] The legal sources record it in capitularies and formulae.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 353–431 AD – Paulinus of Nola uses it of Christ's monogram.^[1][2][7]
• 847 – A diploma of Pepin II says the king has had his monogram added.^[4]
• 851 – A letter calls the chrismon a kind of monogram of the name of Christ.^[4]
• 864 – A diploma of Charles II has the spelling monograma.^[4]
• 973 – A diploma of Otto II orders the form of his monogram to be added.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A character made of several letters joined together, a monogram, especially that of Christ.^[1][2][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) The chrismon at the head of a papal privilege or other document.^[4]
3. (Medieval Latin) The monogram of a ruler's name, used to validate a charter; the monogram of any person's name.^[4][8]

Related words

• English monogram

References

1. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Liber exquisiti xenii: Lexikon frühmittelalterlicher Rechtswörter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de