praevaricatio

Forms

praevāricātiō f (genitive praevāricātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praevāricor (“to act in collusion”) + -tiō.^[2][3][1] praevāricor is a compound of prae- (“before”) and vāricō (“to straddle”),^[1] which comes from vārus¹ (“bow-legged”);^[4][1] de Vaan finds no convincing etymology for that adjective.^[4] Lewis & Short gloss the noun as a stepping out of the line of duty.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from the law on extortion of 123/122 BC.^[6] The TLL notes that it is found only in prose, in inscriptions from the laws on extortion and on land onwards, and in authors from Cicero.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In law it is the mismanagement of a case by collusion between prosecution and defence, a sham accusation or defence;^[2][5] Cicero writes of a man acquitted of it.^[5] Pliny the Younger uses it more widely of an advocate's failure in duty, passing over what should be said or touching only briefly on what should be driven home, and of men condemned for it.^[5] In Church Latin it is a transgression of the law: the Vulgate has “where there is no law, there is no transgression”.^[5][7] In medieval texts it is fraud or adulteration, and a violation of the law, a sin.^[8]

Timeline

• 123/122 BC – The law on extortion.^[3][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero, of collusion in a trial.^[5][3][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate, of transgression.^[5][6]
• Medieval Latin – Fraud; sin.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) Collusion between prosecution and defence, a sham accusation or defence.^[2][5][1]
2. A violation of duty.^[5][1]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A transgression, sin.^[5][7][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Fraud, adulteration.^[8]

Related words

• praevāricor
• praevāricātor
• vārus¹

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill