politicus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [pɔˈliː.tɪ.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [poˈliː.ti.kus]^[1]

Forms

polīticus (feminine polītica, neuter polīticum, adverb polīticē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós, “of citizens, civic”),^[2][3][1] from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, in On the Orator, speaks of the political philosophers, and Caelius writes to him of his books on the state.^[5][6] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant concerned with civil government, political.^[2][8] The TLL notes that Cicero and Quintilian often write it in Greek letters, and Cicero uses a Greek comparative.^[9] Macrobius speaks of the political virtues, those of a statesman.^[5][8]

The DMLBS treats it as a medieval borrowing from Greek, meaning of the state, civil and public, and of constitutional as opposed to despotic rule.^[10] English politic is recorded in the early 15th century, and political in the 1550s.^[4]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of political philosophers.^[5][7]
• 1st half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius speaks of political virtues.^[5][7]
• early 15th century – English politic is recorded.^[4]
• 1550s – English political is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. political, of the state, civil.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) Constitutional, as opposed to despotic.^[10]

Noun

1. A statesman.^[7]

Related words

• English politic
• English political

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b 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