Etymologically
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physicalis

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pʰy.sɪˈkaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [fi.s̬iˈkaː.lis][1]

Forms

physicālis (neuter physicāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1] Medieval spellings include phisicalis and fisicalis.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin physicus + -ālis,[3][2] the adjective physicus (“natural, of nature”) being a borrowing of Ancient Greek φυσικός (phusikós).[4][5] Wiktionary derives it instead from the noun physica (“natural science”).[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a medieval word: Köbler, after Latham, dates its first record to before 1100.[7] The first British quotation in the DMLBS speaks of a mind that is “in some way physical” (mens aliquo modo physicalis).[3]

Semantic evolution

Besides “bodily”, it meant “of nature, natural”: Bernardus Silvestris, in his Cosmographia, speaks of the elements serving “physical causes”.[2] It was also used of natural and medical science,[3][7] and Matthew Paris, under the year 1216, tells of an anatomy of a “physical” body (corpore … phisicali) made by an abbot.[3] Polish medieval sources use it for what is material and for what concerns the study of nature or medicine.[8]

English took it over in the early 15th century as phisical, first in the sense “medicinal” as opposed to surgical.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1100 – First recorded in Medieval Latin.[7]
  • early 15th century – Borrowed into English as physical, meaning “medicinal”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Of the body, physical; material.[3][8]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Of nature, natural; relating to natural science.[2][3][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) medical, relating to medicine.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl