Etymologically
Log in

passio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpas.si.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpas.si.o][1]

Forms

passiō f (genitive passiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from patior “to suffer, undergo” with the suffix -tiō, modelled on Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering, emotion”).[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Varro, of an affection of the mind.[2] Köbler also starts with Varro, whom he dates 116–27 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Varro passiō animī meant an affection of the mind, an emotion, and in Apuleius a natural effect.[2] Lewis and Short call its main sense, a suffering, enduring, post-classical, as in Tertullian and Prudentius.[5] In Christian Latin it meant the Passion of Christ, as in Lactantius and the Vulgate.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant suffering, passion.[7] Medieval Latin used it of undergoing, enduring, and of pain, illness and discomfort.[8] British Medieval Latin used it of emotions, especially sinful passions.[9] Through Old French passion it gave English passion about 1200, first of the sufferings of Christ.[10]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of emotion.[2][4]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of suffering.[5][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of the Passion.[6][4]
  • c. 1200 – English passion is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An emotion, passion.[2]
  2. A natural effect.[2]
  3. (Late Latin) Suffering, endurance.[5]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Passion of Christ.[6][7]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Illness, pain.[8]

Word family

  • antepassio
  • passionalis
  • compassiō
  • passiōlus
  • passiōnātē
  • passiōnātus
  • satispassiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c 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 Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com