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praedicatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word praedicatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*deiḱ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin praedico
Latin praedicatio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prae̯.dɪˈkaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pre.diˈkat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

praedicātiō f (genitive praedicātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim”) + -tiō.[2][1] praedicō is a compound with dicō (“to proclaim, dedicate”), which de Vaan thinks may have been back-formed from compounds in -dicāre; the root is that of dīcō (“to say”), from Proto-Italic *deik-e/o- (“to say”) and Proto-Indo-European *deiḱ- (“to show”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first, in the Miles Gloriosus, of praise: “I am afraid your praise may now outdo my beauty”.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it is a public announcement, a herald's proclamation, and a statement or boast.[2][4] It is also praise and commendation, as already in Plautus.[2][1] In Christian Latin it is preaching: the Vulgate uses it so, and glossaries render it by Ancient Greek κήρυγμα (kḗrugma).[5][6] Medieval writers also used it of prediction and prophecy, the statement of a doctrine, and the canon of the Mass.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of praise.[2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a herald's proclamation.[2][8]
  • 390–406 AD – the Vulgate of preaching.[5][8]
  • 540–604 AD – Gregory the Great uses it.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A public proclamation, announcement; a statement.[2][4][1]
  2. Praise, commendation.[2][6][1]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Preaching; a sermon.[6][7][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A prediction, prophecy.[7][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The teaching of a doctrine.[7]
  6. (Medieval Latin) The canon of the Mass.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Praedicatio.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/praedicatio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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