Etymologically
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praetor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈprae̯.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈprɛː.tor][1]

Forms

praetor m (genitive praetōris); third declension[1] Inscriptions spell it prait- and pret-.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin praeeō + -tor, from ⟨*prai-itōr⟩, “one who goes before, leader”.[2][3][1][4] The verb is prae- with eō “to go”, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”).[3]

The Romans saw the same link: Varro says the praetor was so called in war because he went before the army.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from the Twelve Tables;[5] Naevius has virum praetor advenit, and Plautus homō ad praetōrem dēplōrābundus venit “the man came to the praetor, weeping”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is “leader, commander”, still felt in Cicero's law praeeundō, iūdicandō, cōnsulendō praetōrēs, iūdicēs, cōnsulēs appellāminō.[2][4] At Rome the praetor was first one of the chief magistrates, then second to the consuls, concerned chiefly with justice.[2] The title was used for the chief magistrate of some colonies and for magistrates of foreign states (Cloelius praetor Albānus).[2]

In Medieval Latin it was used for a count, a count palatine (praetor palātīnus), a landgrave, a castellan and a royal or seigneurial provost.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.[5]
  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it of a magistrate.[2]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ad praetōrem.[2][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of the Alban leader Cloelius.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro explains it as “one who goes before the army”.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A leader, commander, chief.[2][4][1]
  2. A praetor, a Roman magistrate ranking below the consuls, chiefly in charge of justice.[2][1][7]
  3. The chief magistrate of a colony;[2] a magistrate of a foreign state.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A count;[6] praetor palātīnus, count palatine;[6] a landgrave, castellan, provost.[6]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson