Etymologically
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mutatio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [muːˈtaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [muˈtat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

mūtātiō f (genitive mūtātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from mūtō (“to change, exchange”) with the suffix -tiō.[2][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of mūtuus (“on loan, reciprocal”): both words presuppose a noun ⟨*mūto-⟩ “(object of) change”, which goes back to Proto-Italic *moito-.[3] Its further origin is uncertain: it may come from the root of mittō, Proto-Indo-European *mitH- (“to exchange”), or from another root, as in Proto-Indo-European *h₂moi-to-, which de Vaan thinks semantically closer.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[3] In the Captivi it is an exchange of prisoners, “an exchange between me and him so that our sons may be returned”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From “exchange, give and take” it came to mean the substitution of one thing for another, as the change of names in the Rhetorica ad Herennium, and vestis mūtātiō, a change of clothes, especially in mourning (Terence).[2] Cicero uses it of alternation, as the changes of the years, and above all of change or alteration in general.[2][5] Caesar has it of shifting a camp, Quintilian of translation into Latin, and mūtātiō rērum is a change of fortune or a political revolution, as in Livy.[2] With or without animī it is a change of mind, as in Terence's Hecyra.[2]

Cicero's saying “a change of plan is the best harbour for one who repents” shows the moral sense.[5] Köbler records it in the Bible, councils and medieval charters, and Latham has it in British sources before 1150.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of an exchange of prisoners.[2][3][4]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of changing clothes and of a change of mind.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of alternation and change.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of the vicissitudes of human affairs.[2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of translation.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – Borrowed into English, by way of Old French, as mutation.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Exchange, give and take.[2][1]
  2. Substitution, replacement, vestis mūtātiō, change of clothes (especially in mourning).[2]
  3. Alternation, interchange.[2][1]
  4. Change, alteration; a shift in position; translation into another language.[2][5]
  5. mūtātiō rērum, temporum: a change of fortune, vicissitude; a political change.[2]
  6. (also animī mūtātiō) A change of mind or attitude.[2]
  • mūtuus
  • commūtātiō
  • permūtātiō
  • vicissitūdō
  • English mutation

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d 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 d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com