munificentia

Forms

mūnificentia f (genitive mūnificentiae); first declension^[1] Inscriptions also spell it mūnificientia.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin mūnificus (“generous”) + -ia, formed on the stem ⟨mūnificent-⟩ like magnificentia.^[3][2][1] mūnificus is a compound of mūnus (“duty, gift”) and faciō (“to make”).^[4] De Vaan traces mūnus to Proto-Italic *moini- (“duty, obligation”) and perhaps Proto-Indo-European *h₂moi-no- (“exchange”), comparing Lithuanian maĩnas (“exchange”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short note that it is classical but not in Cicero or Caesar, and quote Sallust: Caesar was held great for his kindnesses and munificence.^[6][7] Köbler lists it from Cicero.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It is bounty, munificence, generosity: Suetonius has Caesar's munificence, Pliny the Elder the bounty of nature, and the Digest pairs it with ⟨līberālitās⟩.^[3][6] Niermeyer records the medieval senses a gift or donation, an estate, and a fortification or rampart.^[8] Church Latin glosses it bountifulness.^[9] English munificence comes from it through Old French, from the early 15th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 86–34 BC – Sallust of Caesar's munificence.^[6][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of the bounty of nature.^[6][7]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of Caesar's munificence.^[6][7]
• early 15th century – English munificence.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Bounty, munificence, generosity, liberality.^[3][6][1][9]
2. (Medieval Latin) A gift, donation; an estate; a fortification.^[8]

Related words

• mūnificus
• mūnus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ 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 e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson