partita

Forms

partīta f (genitive partītae); first declension^[1] Niermeyer also records the spelling partida.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin partiō (“to share out, divide”), from pars (“part”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first record is from 1248,^[1] with the meaning “quarter of a town”.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Its main medieval sense was a quarter or ward of a town:^[2][3] the customs of Toulouse cited by Du Cange levy a tax by the partitae of the town.^[3] A charter of King Philip the Fair of 1290 uses it for a measure of land, which Du Cange suspects may be the same as pertica;^[3] Polish medieval Latin also has it for a piece of land.^[4]

Du Cange also records it as an Italian word for a livery or badge in the statutes of Mantua, where the podestà's attendants are dressed in one partita.^[3]

Timeline

• 1248 – First record, for a quarter of a town.^[1]
• 1290 – A charter of Philip the Fair uses it for a measure of land.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A quarter or ward of a town.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A measure or piece of land.^[3][4]
3. (Medieval Latin) A livery or badge.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
4. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl