monopolium

Forms

monopōlium n (genitive monopōliī or monopōlī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μονοπώλιον (monopṓlion, “right of exclusive sale”),^[2][1][3] from μόνος (mónos, “sole”) and πωλέω (pōléō, “to barter, sell”).^[1] Etymonline traces these to Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small, isolated”) and Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to sell”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Pliny the Elder, in the Natural History,^[5][6][7] for the right of exclusive sale of a commodity.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It was felt as a Greek word: Suetonius tells how Tiberius, about to use it in the senate, first asked pardon for having to use a foreign word.^[5][3] Suetonius also mentions reports to the senate on revenues and monopolies.^[5]

In Late Latin it was a term of law and administration: Cassiodorus uses it in his letters,^[5] and a title of the Code of Justinian deals with monopolies and illegal combinations of traders.^[5] A glossary explains it as a place where only one thing is sold.^[5] English took it over in the 1530s as monopoly.^[4]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.^[5][6][7]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius reports that Tiberius apologised for the foreign word.^[5][3][7]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it in his letters.^[5][7]
• 528–534 AD – The Code of Justinian has a title on monopolies.^[5][7]
• 1530s – English borrows it as monopoly.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The exclusive right to sell a commodity, a monopoly.^[2][3][8]
2. A place where only one commodity is sold.^[5]

Related words

• English monopoly

Usage notes

Suetonius says that Tiberius, ut monopolium nominaturus veniam prius postularet, quod sibi verbo peregrino utendum esset, “when he was about to say monopolium, first asked leave, since he had to use a foreign word”.^[5]

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 c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.