praeditus

Forms

praeditus (feminine praedita, neuter praeditum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is usually taken as a compound of prae- (“before, in front”) and ⟨-ditus⟩, the participle of dō (“to give, put”) found also in abditus and conditus.^[2][3][1] The TLL objects that this explains neither the meaning of the prefix nor the usual construction with an ablative, and reports Leumann's view that both the common adjective “endowed” and the rare one meaning “put in charge” come from the root Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place”), with an original meaning “set in front, outstanding in something”.^[4][5] Döderlein too relates it to Greek “placed”, Ancient Greek θετός (thetós).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, Amphitruo: the armies lead out their legions “equipped with fine arms” (pulchrīs armīs praeditās).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

With an ablative it means endowed or gifted with a quality of body or mind (Terence: a son tālī ingeniō praeditum, “with such a character”), and equipped or furnished with things.^[2] Lewis & Short note that it implies having something above others, and it is common in Classical prose and verse: Lucretius has a mind dīvīnō praedita sēnsū, “endowed with divine sense”.^[3] A rare later use with the dative, of gods, means put in charge of or presiding over something (Fronto: Mercury in charge of messages), and Terentianus Maurus has it for a word placed in front of others.^[2][4]

Döderlein contrasts it with instructus: praeditus refers to a distinction that sheds lustre, instructus to an equipment that is useful.^[6] Church Latin glosses it “endowed, provided with, gifted”.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of legions equipped with arms.^[2][5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence of a son endowed with a good character.^[2][5]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius: dīvīnō praedita sēnsū.^[3][5]
• 100–170 AD – Fronto of Mercury presiding over messages.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (with ablative) endowed, gifted (with a quality); possessed (of).^[2][3][7]
2. (with ablative) equipped, provided, furnished (with).^[2][7]
3. Placed in front (of other words).^[2]
4. (with dative, of gods) Put in charge (of), presiding (over).^[2][4]

Related words

• dō
• abdō
• condō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson