productivus

Forms

prōductīvus (feminine prōductīva, neuter prōductīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prōdūcō (“to lead forth; to lengthen”) + -īvus, built on ⟨prōduct-⟩, the stem of the participle prōductus.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cassiodorus (c. 485–c. 580 AD)^[4] uses it in the Historia tripartita of words such as semper that express an extension of time;^[2] L&S render it “fit for prolongation”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

A Late Latin glossary uses it for a derived noun, one formed from another word.^[2]

In Medieval Latin it came to mean “productive, generative”: British scholastic writers such as Grosseteste and Duns Scotus speak of a power or principle productive of something.^[6] English productive (1610s) comes from French productif and directly from the Medieval Latin word.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of words that express duration.^[2][4]
• 1610s – English borrows it as productive.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Expressing an extension or prolongation (of time); fit for lengthening.^[2][5]
2. (Late Latin, grammar) Derivative, derived from another word.^[2][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) Productive, generative (of something).^[6]

Word family

• prōductīvitās

Related words

• prōductiō
• English productive

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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