obstinatus
Forms
obstinātus, obstināta, obstinātum; comparative obstinātior, superlative obstinātissimus[1]
Etymology
Used as an adjective, it is the perfect passive participle from Latin obstinō (“to set one's mind on”).[1][2] De Vaan explains obstinō and dēstinō as prefixed verbs built on the old nasal present of stō (“to stand”), Proto-Italic *sta-n-e/o- (“to place”), from Proto-Indo-European *st-n(e)-h₂- (“to place”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Naevius has it first, addressing those who stand by obstinate.[1][4]
Semantic evolution
It means stubborn, obstinate or resolute, and in a bad sense hardened, as when Cicero writes that a man's will seems more obstinate than ever.[1] Accius apparently uses it of being held fast.[1] Church Latin glosses it obstinate, stubborn, resolute, determined.[5]
Timeline
- c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of obstinate bystanders.[1][4]
- 170–c. 90 BC – Accius in the sense held fast.[1][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero of an obstinate will.[1][4]
Meanings
Adjective
Related words
- obstinō
- English obstinate
Usage notes
The adverb is obstinātē.[5]
References
- ^ 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
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson