Etymologically
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praevidentia

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prae̯.wɪˈdɛn.ti.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pre.viˈdɛn.t͡si.a][1]

Forms

praevidentia f (genitive praevidentiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin praevidēns + -ia,[1][2] from the present participle of praevideō (“to foresee”).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boethius discusses it in the Consolation of Philosophy (5.6), arguing that God's knowledge is better called providentia than praevidentia: unde non praevidentia, sed providentia potius dicitur “hence it is called not foresight but providence”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Fulgentius glosses the Greek for the foreknowledge of God as praevidentia dei, and the Lives of the Fathers use it for an old man's gift of seeing what is hidden.[2]

Medieval Latin used it for foresight, precaution and care, and for supervision or control.[5][6][7] Thomas Bradwardine explains prōvidentia as a far-off seeing or praevidentia of the intellect.[6] Ecclesiastical Latin also gives it the sense “security, pension”,[8] and Italian previdenza goes back to it.[1][9]

Timeline

  • early 6th century AD – Boethius contrasts it with providentia.[2][4]
  • 1418 – A document praises human foresight, humana praevidentia.[6]
  • 1455 – A Kraków document uses it for care and forethought.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) Foreknowledge, especially that of God; a synonym of prōvidentia.[2][1][3]
  2. (Late Latin) Human foresight, the power of seeing what is hidden.[2][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Precaution, forethought, care.[5][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Supervision, control.[5]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Security; a pension.[8]

Usage notes

Conte cites Marius Victorinus for the word,[9] but the TLL takes that reading to be a corruption of praeviventia.[2]

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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d 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
  7. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier