municipium

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [muː.nɪˈkɪ.pi.ũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [mu.niˈt͡ʃiː.pi.um]^[1]

Forms

mūnicipium n (genitive mūnicipiī or mūnicipī); second declension^[1] An inscription has the spelling moenicipium.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin mūniceps (“citizen of a municipium”) + -ium.^[2][1] ⟨mūniceps⟩ is from mūnus “duty” and capiō “to take”: de Vaan explains a ⟨mūniceps⟩ as one who “takes on an obligation”, from Proto-Italic ⟨*moini-⟩ “duty, obligation”, cognate with Oscan ⟨múíníkú⟩ “common”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero.^[4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was a self-governing community in Italy, originally one that accepted Roman citizenship without the vote in return for public duties, and later any town whose people held Roman citizenship while keeping their own laws and magistrates.^[2][5]

Medieval Latin used it for the chief town of a cīvitās, a walled town that was not a city, and a town wall.^[6] It survives as Italian municipio, Spanish municipio and Romanian municipiu.^[1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[7][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A self-governing town whose people held Roman citizenship, a municipality.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) A chief town; a walled town; a town wall.^[6]

Word family

• mūnicipālis
• municipiolum

Related words

• mūniceps
• mūnus
• commūnis
• English municipal

Usage notes

Isidore of Seville derived the name from mūnia, the duties its people owed.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).