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prosecutio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word prosecutio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
AD 219, a military papyrus
Ultimate origin
Latin prōsequor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin prosequor
French poursuivre
Latin prosecutio
From the same root
Latin prosecutor ← prosequor

Forms

prōsecūtiō f (genitive prōsecūtiōnis); third declension[1][2] Papyri and later manuscripts also spell it prosequtio.[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin prōsequor + -tiō.[3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from the 3rd century AD on, in prose and above all in technical language.[3] Its first examples are military papyri of AD 219 and 223/233, which record soldiers sent as an escort for those buying barley.[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense of escort or attendance appears in the Theodosian Code and in Symmachus.[1][2] Ambrose uses it of honouring someone with words, a eulogy, and of a continuation;[1][2][5] in the Theodosian Code it is also a formal statement or charge made before a court.[6]

In medieval Latin it took on many senses: a treatise or exposition, a sermon, a legal action or prosecution, the lord's right to pursue a serf who had left his land, and the carrying out of a task.[7][6] British writers used it of pursuit and chasing, including the pursuit of wild animals in law.[8] English took it over as prosecution in the 1560s.[9]

Timeline

  • AD 219 – A military papyrus uses it of an escort.[3]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of a eulogy and of a continuation.[1][2][4]
  • c. 340–402 AD – Symmachus uses it of an escort.[1][2][4]
  • 1221 – An arbitration at Arles uses it of following up an appeal.[6]
  • 1560s – English borrows it as prosecution.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An escort, attendance.[1][2][3]
  2. (figurative) An honouring with words, a eulogy.[1][2][5]
  3. A continuation.[1][2][5]
  4. (law) A formal statement or charge before a court.[6]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A treatise, exposition; a sermon.[7]
  6. (Medieval Latin, law) A legal action, prosecution.[7][6]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A lord's right to pursue and reclaim a serf who had left the manor.[7][6]
  8. (Medieval Latin) Pursuit, chase.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Prosecutio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/prosecutio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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