partialis

Forms

partiālis (neuter partiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pars (“part”) + -ālis.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Marius Victorinus, in the first half of the 4th century,^[3] but the TLL notes that only old editions read partialis there, in place of partilis.^[2] The TLL's own examples come from the Latin translation of Hesychius' commentary on Leviticus, where it describes what concerns single parts rather than the whole, as the twelve stones of the breastplate set against the four general virtues.^[2][4] Georges and Gaffiot cite it from the letters of Gregory the Great.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant “partial”, belonging to a part rather than to the whole, with the adverb partialiter “in part”.^[2][7]

Medieval writers used it in philosophy, often set against communis, generalis or totalis, and in special senses: a partial eclipse in astronomy, a mode in music, and in law a provision restricted to particular places or persons.^[8] Niermeyer records the sense “of one party, factious”,^[9] the source of the English sense “biased”, which English partial took from Medieval Latin, partly through Old French, in the early 15th century.^[10]

Timeline

• first half of the 4th century AD – Köbler's first source, Marius Victorinus, though the TLL considers this reading doubtful.^[3][2]
• late 14th century – English partial, “incomplete”, is recorded, from Medieval Latin partialis, partly through Old French.^[10]
• early 15th century – English partial takes on the sense “one-sided, biased”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Of or concerning a part; partial, not total.^[2][7][1]
2. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Particular, as opposed to general or universal.^[8]
3. (Medieval Latin, astronomy) Of an eclipse: partial.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin, law) Limited to particular places or persons.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) Taking one side; factious.^[9]

Related words

• particularis
• English partial

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com