Etymologically
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obstinatio

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Forms

obstinātiō f (genitive obstinātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obstinō (“to set one's mind on”) + -tiō.[2][3][1] De Vaan lists that verb, attested from Naevius on, among the derivatives of stō (“to stand”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Cicero on,[3][5] who says in On the Consular Provinces that he rejected all this not out of ingratitude but out of a kind of firmness of conviction (obstinātiōne quādam sententiae).[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Nepos and Seneca use it too,[3] Nepos of a silent persistence (taciturna obstinātiō) that overcame entreaties.[3][7] It could be praise, as when Tacitus credits Blaesus with unwavering loyalty (fideī obstinātiō),[3] or blame, the sense of stubbornness that grows in later writers such as Apuleius, Tertullian and Ammianus.[3][6] Of poets only Prudentius has it.[3] Cassiodorus speaks of the natural obstinacy of the snake that will not hear the charmer's words.[3]

In medieval Britain it meant persistence or determination, and Henry of Huntingdon used it for an obstacle.[8] It survives in Italian ostinazione.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of firmness of conviction.[3][5]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it of silent persistence.[3][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of steadfast loyalty.[3][5]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses it of stubborn resistance.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Firmness, resolution, steadfastness.[2][6][9]
  2. Obstinacy, stubbornness; with a genitive, stubborn adherence to something.[2][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) An obstacle.[8]

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes it from dēstinātiō: dēstinātiō is the making of an unalterable resolution, obstinātiō holding to it in spite of every obstacle; both differ from pervicācia and pertinācia, which describe the persistence itself.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b 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
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  10. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper