Etymologically
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propterea

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Forms

proptereā (not comparable)[1] It is also written separately, propter eā.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin propter (“because of”) + eā (“these things”), the ablative of is, like anteā and posteā.[2][3][1] De Vaan derives propter from prope (“near”), which he traces, after Dunkel, to Proto-Indo-European *própro (“ever further forward”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,[5] who has quia mihi nātālis est diēs, proptereā tē vocārī ad cēnam volō, “because it is my birthday, I want you invited to dinner”.[6]

Semantic evolution

Proptereā means “for that reason, on that account, therefore”, usually joining cause and result.[2][6] It often looks forward to a clause: proptereā quod or quia, “because”, and proptereā ut, “with this in view, in order that” (Plautus, Terence, Cicero).[2] Lewis & Short give ideō, idcircō and inde as synonyms.[6]

Church Latin glosses it “therefore, for that cause”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: proptereā tē vocārī ad cēnam volō.[6][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence: proptereā ut.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. therefore, for that reason, on that account.[2][6][1][7]
  2. proptereā quod (quia), because.[2]
  3. proptereā ut, in order that.[2]

References

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