Etymologically
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praedictio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prae̯ˈdɪk.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [preˈdik.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

praedictiō f (genitive praedictiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praedīcō2 (“to foretell”) + -tiō.[2][1][3] Manuscripts often confuse it with praedicātiō “proclamation”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero is the first to use it, and uses it often, of the foretelling of the future: he says that Epicurus mocks nothing so much as praedictiōnem rērum futūrārum, “the prediction of things to come”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero's works on religion it covers prophecy, divination and astrology,[3][5] and the plural is used of the predictions of seers.[5] Quintilian uses it in rhetoric of a remark made in advance, a forewarning of what the speaker is about to say.[2][5] Suetonius has it of predictions about Tiberius,[5] and Boethius uses it in logic of a statement about what will happen.[3] Church writers used it often of prophecy.[3][6]

In British Medieval Latin it could also mean a proclaiming.[7] English took prediction in the 1560s, from French and directly from Medieval Latin.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the prediction of the future.[3][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a forewarning in a speech.[2][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses the plural of predictions.[5][4]
  • 1322 – The Annals of St Paul's use it of the proclaiming of a peace.[7]
  • 1560s – English borrows prediction.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (rhetoric) A statement made in advance, previous notice.[2][5]
  2. A prediction, prophecy.[2][5][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A proclaiming.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c 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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com