Etymologically
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participium

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [par.tɪˈkɪ.pi.ũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [par.tiˈt͡ʃiː.pi.um][1]

Forms

participium n (genitive participiī or participī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin particeps (“sharing”) + -ium, the grammatical sense being a semantic loan from Ancient Greek μετοχή (metokhḗ, “sharing, participle”).[2][1][3] Wiktionary derives it from participō, from pars and capiō.[1] Isidore of Seville explained it as taking parts of the noun and the verb, as if particapium.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro, in On the Latin Language, uses it of the participle.[5][6] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[7]

Semantic evolution

Its usual sense was grammatical, a participle, a verb form that shares in the functions of a noun, and ancient grammarians counted the gerundive among them.[2][8] Quintilian uses it so.[5] The sense of sharing, participation, is found in Justinian's Code.[8][5]

In medieval Latin it was participation and a share in common rights of use.[9][7] English participle is recorded in the late 14th century.[10]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the participle.[5][7]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.[5][7]
  • 528–534 AD – Justinian's Code uses it of sharing.[8][7]
  • late 14th century – English participle is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (grammar) A participle.[2][8]
  2. Sharing, participation.[8][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A share in common rights of use.[9]

Word family

  • participālis
  • participiālis
  • participiāliter
  • pars
  • particeps
  • participātiō
  • participātor
  • participātum
  • participātus
  • participō
  • English participle
  • English participate

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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com