Etymologically
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petitio

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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]

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