obiectivus

Forms

obiectīvus (feminine obiectīva, neuter obiectīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obiciō (“to present, expose”) + -īvus.^[1] Etymonline relates it to obiectum (“object”) and ascribes its philosophical use to Duns Scotus.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first record to about 1360,^[3] where it is a philosophical term for what belongs to the object of thought or action.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In scholastic philosophy it described what pertains to the object of consciousness, and was sometimes set against subiectīvus: Wyclif speaks of acts that have an “objective and not a subjective” magnitude.^[4] English took objective in this philosophical sense in the 1610s, on the model of the Medieval Latin word.^[2] Its descendants include French objectif and Italian oggettivo and obiettivo.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1360 – First recorded.^[3]
• 1610s – English forms objective on its pattern.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) objective: relating to the object of thought or action, as opposed to the subject.^[4][1][5]

Related words

• obiectum
• English objective

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson