placitus

Forms

placitus (feminine placita, neuter placitum; superlative placitissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin placeō (“to please”), its participle used as an adjective.^[1][2] De Vaan traces placeō to Proto-Italic *plak-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₂k- (“to agree, be pleasant”), whose only certain cognate is Tocharian A plāk- (“to agree”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and Georges cite Sallust first, of a pleasing place.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

It is what has won approval, pleasing or favoured: Virgil has a love that pleased,^[2] and Statius the superlative, of a most welcome worshipper.^[2][1] Church Latin has “acceptable”.^[5] In medieval texts it means agreed or decreed.^[6]

Timeline

• 86–34 BC – Sallust, of a pleasing place.^[2][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil, of a love that pleased.^[2][4]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius has the superlative.^[2][4]
• Medieval Latin – Agreed, decreed.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That has won approval, pleasing, favoured, agreeable.^[1][2]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Acceptable.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) Agreed upon; decreed.^[6]

Related words

• placeō
• placitum
• placidus

Usage notes

The neuter placitum is used as a noun, “what one likes”, and an opinion, principle or doctrine, which Seneca offers as Latin for Greek dogmata.^[2] In medieval Latin the noun has many legal senses, among them a resolution, an agreement, a court session and a plea.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill