Etymologically
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remotus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [rɛˈmoː.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [reˈmɔː.tus][1]

Forms

remōtus (feminine remōta, neuter remōtum, comparative remōtior, superlative remōtissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is the perfect participle of removeō “to move back, remove”.[2][1][3] The manuscripts of Lucretius have ⟨remm-⟩ or a long ⟨rē-⟩.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation for the adjective is from Varro, of what is far removed in nature.[2] Köbler's first source is Cicero; he dates Varro 116–27 BC and Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant remote, distant, as Caesar's and Cicero's remote places and Ovid's remōtius antrum, and of kinship distant, as in Pliny, and in Tacitus remote in time.[2][3] It meant far removed in nature, unrelated, as in Varro, and in rhetoric of a proof extraneous.[2] Of persons it meant remote from a way of life, as in Cicero, and of arguments far-fetched; in Gellius it meant recondite.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant remote, far off, distant.[5] British Medieval Latin also used it of a musical interval and as a noun for a remote place.[6] English remote came in the mid-15th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of what is far removed.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of remote places.[2][3][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of remote times.[2][4]
  • mid-15th century – English remote is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Remote, distant, in space, kinship or time.[2]
  2. Recondite, out of the way.[2]
  3. Far removed, unrelated, (rhetoric) extraneous.[2]
  4. Remote from a way of life.[2]
  5. Of arguments, far-fetched.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com