refectio

Forms

refectiō f (genitive refectiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin reficiō (“to remake, repair, refresh”) + -tiō (“action noun suffix”).^[2][1] The verb is a compound of re- and faciō (“to make”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Vitruvius,^[3] who speaks of the great trouble some structures give when they are repaired.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the first century AD it was the repairing or restoring of things: tools, aqueducts, a ship, houses and roads, and the Capitol;^[2][4] it is common in this sense in the jurists.^[2] From the same time it also meant refreshment, the recovery of strength: Seneca says sleep is necessary for refreshment, and Quintilian speaks of the times nature gives us for rest.^[2][5] Celsus used it of convalescence after illness, and Pliny the Elder of a remedy that restores the eyes.^[2]

In Late and medieval Latin it came to mean rest, especially the night's rest,^[5][6] and a meal or repast, as well as the right to be provided with food (right of entertainment) and spiritual comfort.^[6] Ecclesiastical Latin also used it for a dining room or guest chamber.^[7] British sources use it for the repair of towns, bridges and churches.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius writes of buildings that need repairs.^[2][3]
• 1st century AD – Columella speaks of iron tools that need repair.^[2][3]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca calls sleep necessary for refreshment.^[2][3]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of recovery after fever.^[2][3]
• Middle Ages – It is used for a meal and for the right of entertainment.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Repair, restoration; remaking, refashioning.^[2][4]
2. Refreshment, the recovery of strength; a means of refreshment, a restorative.^[2][4]
3. Convalescence, recovery from illness.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) Rest; a meal, repast; spiritual comfort.^[6]
5. (Medieval Latin) The right to be provided with food, right of entertainment.^[6]
6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A dining room, refectory or guest chamber.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ 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