Etymologically
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politicus

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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]

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