Etymologically
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remissio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛˈmɪs.si.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈmis.si.o][1]

Forms

remissiō f (genitive remissiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin remittō (“to send back, let go, relax”) + -tiō.[2][3][1] The verb is re- with mittō (“to send, let go”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *meit-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *m(e)ith₂- (“to exchange, remove”), the sense passing from exchanging to giving and letting go.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[5] and its first example in the OLD is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, where easing off from continuous shouting saves the voice.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a sending back, as of hostages and captives in Livy, a reflection of light in Vitruvius, and a letting go or release.[2][6] It also means a slackening or lowering, as of the eyebrows, a softening of the eyes' expression, and relaxation of the mind from cares, which Cicero says comes above all from friendly conversation.[2] It is the easing off of a condition, as of an illness, and the remission or cancellation of a debt, penalty or work, as Varro advises to make workers keener by remitting work.[2]

In Church Latin it is the remission of sins, forgiveness, absolution or pardon, and medieval Latin keeps this sense.[7][8][1] Glossaries render it with Ancient Greek ἄφεσις (áphesis, “release, forgiveness”).[3] English borrowed remission about 1200, first in the sense forgiveness of sins.[9]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium of easing off from shouting.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of relaxing the eyebrows and the mind.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of remitting work.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of sending back hostages.[2][5]
  • c. 1200 – Borrowed into English as remission.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sending back; reflection of light.[2][6][1]
  2. A letting go, release.[2][1]
  3. A slackening, lowering, softening.[2][1]
  4. Relaxation of the mind, recreation; mildness.[2][1]
  5. An easing off, abatement, especially of an illness.[2][1]
  6. Remission or cancellation of a debt or penalty.[2]
  7. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Forgiveness of sins, absolution, pardon.[7][8][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b 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
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com