oeconomia

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [oe̯.kɔˈnɔ.mi.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [e.koˈnɔː.mi.a]^[1]

Forms

oeconomia f (genitive oeconomiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomía, “household management, arrangement”),^[2][3][1] from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) and νόμος (nómos, “law”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Quintilian uses it of the arrangement of a speech or a work.^[5][6] Köbler dates Quintilian c. 35–95/96 AD.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short give the basic sense of management of household affairs, hence a proper division or arrangement of a speech or play, post-Augustan, and note that Cicero writes it in Greek letters.^[8] The OLD defines it as an author's arrangement of material, and Donatus uses it of the plan of Terence's plays.^[2][5] The TLL notes Greek letters are frequent, and Tertullian writes oikonomia in Latin letters.^[9]

In medieval Latin it was the administration of a household, of a church or a monastery.^[10] English economy is recorded in the 1530s as household management.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of arrangement.^[5][7]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.^[9][7]
• 1530s – English economy is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The management of a household.^[8][1]
2. The arrangement or plan of a speech, play or work.^[2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) The management of a church or monastery.^[10]

Related words

• English economy

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ 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