praepositio

Forms

praepositiō f (genitive praepositiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praepōnō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to place in front”.^[2][1][3] In its grammatical sense it is a semantic loan from Ancient Greek πρόθεσις (próthesis),^[1] which the ancient glossaries give as its Greek equivalent.^[3] The verb is formed from prae- and pōnō (“to place, put”),^[2] which de Vaan derives from an older compound ⟨po-sinō⟩ “to put down”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is the Rhetorica ad Herennium (86/82 BC).^[5] The OLD's earliest citation is Cicero's De inventione, of the prefixing of a negative to a word.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Cicero already used it both of the act of prefixing and of the word placed before another, the preposition: in the Orator he notes that af is one such word.^[2] Quintilian used it of a prefix in compounds.^[6][7] Cicero also used it of preference, a thing's being preferred.^[2][8] The jurists used it for putting someone in charge of a business, such as a ship.^[2][8]

The grammatical sense became the usual one: the medieval grammarians of Britain used it from Aldhelm on.^[9] English took it over in the late 14th century as preposition.^[10]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium has it.^[5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of prefixing a word, of a preposition and of a preference.^[2][5]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a prefix.^[6][7][5]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of putting someone in charge.^[2][5]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses it in grammar for prefixes and prepositions.^[9][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as preposition.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of placing in front; prefixing.^[2][8]
2. (grammar) The prefixing of a word; a preposition or prefix.^[2][8]
3. (philosophy) Preference, a thing's being preferred.^[2][8]
4. (law) The putting of someone in charge of a business.^[2][8]

Related words

• praepositus
• English preposition

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com