praefatio

Forms

praefātiō f (genitive praefātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praefor (“to say beforehand”) + -tiō,^[2][1][3] and that verb is a compound of prae- (“before”) and for (“to speak”).^[1][4] De Vaan traces for to Proto-Italic *fā- (“to speak”) and Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- (“to speak”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero,^[6] who in the Verrines asks what formula went with a gift: quae porro praefātiō tuae dōnātiōnis fuit?^[2][7] The sense is a set form of words said beforehand.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

In religious and public language it was the formula spoken before a rite or act: Livy has the praefātiō sacrōrum, Pliny the Elder that of a triumph, and Suetonius the old formula of the fetial priests.^[8][9][7] Pliny also uses it of a phrase such as “by your leave” put before a rustic or foreign word, and Suetonius of words of clemency put before a harsh sentence.^[8][7] In law it was a preliminary negotiation before a contract.^[9][2]

The sense of a preface to a speech or book appears in Pliny the Elder and later.^[2][8] In the Church it named the preface of the Mass,^[10][4] and in Britain Theodore and Bede use it of the preface of a book.^[11] English preface, first “an introduction to the canon of the Mass”, came from medieval Latin prefatia, partly through Old French.^[4]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the formula of a gift.^[2][7][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy has the praefātiō sacrōrum, the formula before a rite.^[8][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a preface and of a phrase like “by your leave”.^[2][8][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows preface, partly from medieval Latin.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An introductory statement, preamble; a set formula said before a rite or act.^[2][8]
2. A prefatory phrase or title, such as one of honour.^[2][7]
3. The introductory part of a speech or book, a preface, prologue.^[2][8]
4. (law) A preliminary negotiation before a contract.^[2][9]
5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The preface of the Mass.^[10][1]

Word family

• praefatiuncula

Related words

• praefor
• English preface

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ 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