Etymologically
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patricius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [paˈtrɪ.ki.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [paˈtriː.t͡ʃi.us][1]

Forms

patricius (feminine patricia, neuter patricium); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨patr-⟩, the stem of pater “father”, with the suffix -icius, referring to the ⟨patrēs⟩, the senators.[2][1][3] The Monumentum Ancyranum spells it ⟨patritius⟩.[3] Isidore says the patricians were so called because they provide for the state as fathers for their sons.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of patrician rank.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant patrician in rank, as in Plautus and Cicero, and of or belonging to the patricians, as in Livy.[2][6] As a noun a patricius was a patrician, and the vīcus patricius a street between the Esquiline and Viminal, as in Martial.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin a patricius was a patrician, a distinguished citizen.[7] In late and Medieval Latin it was an honorary title of high officials at the imperial court.[8] English patrician came in the early 15th century through Old French, and the name Patricius gave Old Irish Patraicc and English Patrick.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of rank.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[6][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of what belongs to patricians.[2][5]
  • early 15th century – English patrician is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Patrician.[2]
  2. Of the patricians.[2]

Noun

  1. A patrician.[2]
  2. (Late and Medieval Latin) A title of high officials.[8]

Word family

  • expatricius
  • patriciātus
  • patriciolus
  • patricia

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ 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. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com