Etymologically
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operatio

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Forms

operātiō f (genitive operātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from operor “to work” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Vitruvius, of the working of natural forces.[2] Köbler dates Vitruvius c. 84–c. 25 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant work, labour, activity, as Pliny the Elder's frogs lying in wait for bees at work, and in Vitruvius the operation of natural forces.[2][6] Lewis and Short note it is absent in Cicero and Caesar.[2][7][6] Festus uses the plural of sacrifices.[2][6] In Christian writers it meant Christian works, charity.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant operation, work, toil, trade, business, virtue, action.[8] Medieval Latin used it for labour service and meritorious acts, charity, and British Medieval Latin for monastic manual labour.[9][10] It survives in Italian operazione and French opération, and Old French gave English operation in the late 14th century, “action, performance”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of natural forces.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of work.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English operation is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Work, activity; operation.[2]
  2. In the plural, sacrifices.[2]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Good works, charity.[6][9]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Labour service.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ 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