observantia

Forms

observantia f (genitive observantiae); first declension^[1] Manuscripts also spell it observancia, and an edict of Diocletian has ubservantia.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin observāns (“observing”) + -ia, the present participle of observō (“to watch, heed, respect”),^[3][4][2] which is a compound of ob- and servō (“to keep, watch”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,^[4] who defines it as the virtue by which we respect and honour those who surpass us in age, wisdom, rank or other distinction.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it is the respectful regard shown to elders and superiors and the attentions by which friends are kept;^[3][5] Livy has it towards a king, and Quintilian of freedmen towards their patrons.^[5] Velleius uses it of watching or observing the seasons.^[3][5] Valerius Maximus and the jurists use it of keeping laws, customs and rules,^[3][5] and in Late Latin it came to mean religious observance and worship, as in the Theodosian Code and the Vulgate.^[5] Medieval Latin used it of obeying the law, of a regulation or law itself, and of keeping divine law, religious duties and rites;^[6] in Ecclesiastical Latin it also meant abstinence and practice.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero defines it as respect for superiors.^[3][5][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of respect towards a king.^[5][4]
• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius uses it of observation.^[3][5][4]
• Late Latin – The Theodosian Code and the Vulgate use it of religious observance.^[5]
• Medieval Latin – It is used of a regulation or law.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Observation, attention, watching.^[3][5]
2. Respectful regard, deference, reverence.^[3][5]
3. Observance of laws, customs or rules.^[3][5]
4. (Late Latin) Religious observance, worship.^[5][6]
5. (Medieval Latin) A regulation, law.^[6]

Related words

• observō
• servō
• observātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson