petitio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [pɛˈtiː.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [peˈtit.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

petītiō f (genitive petītiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from petō “to aim at, attack, seek, ask” with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of a legal claim.^[2] Köbler dates it 86/82 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant an attack, a thrust, as Cicero's tuās petītiōnēs effūgī “I dodged your thrusts”, used figuratively.^[2][5][6] In law it meant a claim in court, a suit, and the right to sue, and in Cicero canvassing for office, candidature.^[2] In Gellius it meant the pursuit of an aim, in Pliny a petition or request, and in Apuleius the seeking of a woman in marriage.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant petition, request, desire, prayer.^[7] Medieval Latin used it of a written memorial, a tallage, and a statute.^[8] Through Anglo-French and Old French peticion it gave English petition in the mid-14th century, first a supplication to a god.^[9]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of a legal claim.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a thrust and of canvassing.^[2][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny uses it of a request.^[2][4]
• mid-14th century – English petition is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An attack, thrust.^[2]
2. Pursuit of an aim.^[2]
3. A petition, request.^[2]
4. (law) A claim, suit.^[2]
5. Canvassing, candidature.^[2]
6. Suit for a woman's hand.^[2]
7. (Medieval Latin) A tallage; a statute.^[8]

Related words

• petītōrius
• petō
• English petition

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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