pestilentialis

Forms

pestilentiālis (neuter pestilentiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is a Medieval Latin formation from Latin pestilentia (“plague”) + -ālis.^[2][1] Its base goes back to pestis (“plague”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler first finds it in Nicholas of Clairvaux, in the third quarter of the 12th century,^[3] meaning deadly or destructive.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin it described what had to do with an outbreak of plague, such as the time of an epidemic,^[2] and what was deadly or of the nature of plague.^[2][3] Medical writers spoke of pestilential fevers caused by corrupted air.^[4]

Neo-Latin authors kept these senses, as in Benvenuto da Imola's commentary on Dante, where corrupt humours come from pestilential air.^[5] English pestilential was taken from it in the late 14th century.^[6]

Timeline

• 1150–1175 – Nicholas of Clairvaux uses it.^[3]
• 1363 – A letter from Canterbury speaks of the twofold onslaught of a pestilential ruin.^[2]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as pestilencial.^[6]
• 1505 – A Polish church court record speaks of plague and a pestilential disease in a diocese.^[4]
• 1521 – A letter in the correspondence of Beatus Rhenanus reports a pestilential disease spreading through Austria.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or connected with an outbreak of plague.^[2][4]
2. Deadly, pestilential, of the nature of plague.^[2][3]

Related words

• pestilens
• English pestilential

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
5. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com