Etymologically
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praefatio

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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

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