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qualificatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word qualificatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1389, Hereford register
Ultimate origin
Latin quālificō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin qualis
French quel
Italian quale
Latin qualifico
English qualify
Latin qualificatio
From the same root
Latin qualiscumque ← qualis
Latin qualiter ← qualis
French lequel ← quel
French quelque ← quel
Italian qualche ← quale
Italian qualunque ← quale

Forms

quālificātiō f (genitive quālificātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin quālificō (“to qualify”) + -tiō.[2][1] The medieval verb was formed from quālis (“of what kind”) with -ficus and a verb ending; the DMLBS compares Classical magnificō.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first British record, in a Hereford register of 1389, has it for the nature or make-up of a person's complexion, by which medicine should be given.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Polish sources it meant the determination of quality, or quality itself, as in a letter of 1461, and in 1516 litterae qualificationum were letters attesting someone's qualifications, here those of doctors of law.[3] A Scottish council of 1552 used it for a modification or mitigation.[2] Ecclesiastical Latin has it for qualification.[4]

English qualification, first in the sense of a restriction, comes in the 1540s from French and directly from Medieval Latin.[5] It passed also into Middle French, Catalan and Dutch.[1]

Timeline

  • 1389 – A Hereford register uses it for the make-up of a complexion.[2]
  • 1461 – A Polish letter uses it for the determination of quality.[3]
  • 1516 – Polish litterae qualificationum attest the qualifications of doctors of law.[3]
  • 1540s – English borrows it as qualification.[5]
  • 1552 – A Scottish council uses it for a modification.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) Nature, condition, make-up; quality.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Determination of quality.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Modification, mitigation.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Qualification (for an office or degree).[4][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  4. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Qualificatio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/qualificatio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·