Etymologically
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praetextus

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praetextus1 bordered; wearing the toga praetexta

Forms

praetextus (feminine praetexta, neuter praetextum); first/second-declension participle[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin praetexō (“to weave in front, border”).[1][2] That verb is prae- (“in front”) with texō (“to weave”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *tekse/o- and Proto-Indo-European *teḱ-s- (“to fashion”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses toga praetexta, the purple-bordered toga, of the dress of curule magistrates and of a girl's toga.[1]

Semantic evolution

Above all it is used in the phrase toga praetexta, the toga with a purple border worn by curule magistrates and by children until manhood;[1] Cicero speaks of youthful loves laid aside with the praetexta.[1] Poets vary it, as Propertius' praetextus amictus.[1] Of persons it means clothed in the praetexta: Propertius has a senate so dressed.[1] Festus reports that some explained praetextus sermō as obscene talk, because children wearing the praetexta were forbidden to use obscene words.[1] Quintilian has a figure: one cannot hope for a bordered toga when the opening is dark.[1]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the toga of magistrates and children.[1]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a toga a priest bids someone put on.[1]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of a senate in bordered togas.[1]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. toga praetexta: the purple-bordered toga of curule magistrates and children.[1][2]
  2. Clothed in the toga praetexta.[1]
  3. praetextus sermō: obscene talk, in an ancient explanation.[1]

praetextus2 show; pretext

Forms

praetextus m (genitive praetextūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun is from Latin praetexō (“to weave in front; to allege as an excuse”) + -tus.[1][2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Livy,[5] who writes of a decree made in favour of a king under a mild pretext of words.[1]

Semantic evolution

It is an outward appearance or show, as in Tacitus, and above all a pretext or pretence, almost always in sub praetextū “under the pretext of”: Petronius has a man seek another's blood under pretext of a search, and the jurists use it often.[1][2] Lewis & Short find it only in the ablative singular; the TLL finds a nominative only in the Justinian Code and glosses, and an accusative perhaps in Gregory the Great.[2][4] Church Latin glosses it pretext, excuse.[6] In Medieval Latin sub praetextū also means “by way of, as”, and “with such a proviso”, and in charters it marks a reserved right of ownership.[7]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a pretext.[1][5]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius.[1][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of outward show.[1][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Outward appearance, show, display.[1][2]
  2. A pretext, pretence, excuse, especially sub praetextū.[1][2][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) sub praetextū: by way of; with such a proviso.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill