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participatus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word participatus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 340–397 AD, Ambrose
Ultimate origin
Latin participō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin participo
French participer
Italian partecipare
Latin participatus

Forms

participātus m (genitive participātūs); fourth declension[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin participō (“to share, take part”), with the suffix of action nouns -tus.[4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

According to the TLL it is found from the 4th century on, in the sense “sharing, partnership”;[4] Köbler's first author is Ambrose, who writes of the prophet shrinking from a share in so great a crime.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

It was used much like participatio: people shared in a thing, such as communion with a church or a share in fortune.[4][5] The writers of the Historia Augusta use it for a share in supreme power, as when Niger calls Severus ad participatum imperii, to a share in the rule.[4][1]

The divine could be its subject too: Martianus Capella has Mercury taken into partnership, and Christian texts speak of God coming to share in human nature.[4] The TLL notes that manuscripts sometimes confuse it with principatus.[4] Du Cange cites it from medieval glosses with the meaning “fellowship”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it for having a share in a crime.[6][4]
  • 5th century AD – Martianus Capella uses it for Mercury's partnership with Apollo.[4][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) A sharing, participation, partnership.[1][2][4]
  2. (Late Latin) A share in supreme power, joint rule.[4][1]
  3. (Christian Latin) The sharing of the divine in human nature.[4]

Usage notes

Participātus, -a, -um is also the perfect participle of participō.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
Cite this entry

“Participatus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/participatus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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