poetria

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [poˈeː.tri.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [poˈɛː.tri.a]^[1]

Forms

poētria f (genitive poētriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ποιήτρια (poiḗtria, “poetess”), the feminine of Ancient Greek ποιητής (poiētḗs, “poet”).^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD, Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Cicero's Prō Caeliō, fābulārum poētria.^[2][3][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a poetess, as in Cicero and Ovid.^[2][3]

Medieval Latin used it for the art of poetry, and Wiktionary suggests this sense may come from a misreading of poētica.^[6][1] English poetry (late 14th century) comes partly from it through Old French poetrie.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[2][5]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it.^[3][5]
• late 14th century – English poetry is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A poetess.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) The art of poetry.^[6]

Related words

• poēta
• poēsis
• poēticus
• English poetry

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com