repulsio

Forms

repulsiō, repulsiōnis f; third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin repellō (“to drive back”) + -tiō,^[3][1][4] beside the older repulsa, used from Cicero on.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Late Latin word.^[5] Jerome uses it in his commentary on Jeremiah in the sense “rejection”,^[2][6] and Caelius Aurelianus, in the 5th century, in the sense “refutation”.^[1][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The TLL records it for driving back, literally and in images: Sedulius's epistle speaks of scorning hurled darts with an easy repulse.^[3] Isidore defines natural law as including violentiae per vim repulsio, the repelling of force by force.^[1][4] Augustine and other Church writers have it for a rejection or refutation.^[4]

In medieval British sources it meant thrusting away, driving back an enemy, expelling something in medicine, and removing a person from office.^[5] English repulsion (early 15th century, at first also of divorce) is from Old French and directly from this Late Latin noun.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it for rejection.^[2][6]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it for a refutation.^[1][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore uses it in his definition of natural law.^[1][6]
• 1309 – A British document speaks of driving back the king's enemies.^[5]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as repulsion.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A driving back, repulse, resistance.^[1][4][3]
2. (Late Latin) Rejection, refusal.^[2][8]
3. (Late Latin) A refutation.^[1][4][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Expulsion, in medicine; removal of a person from office.^[5]

Related words

• repulsa
• repulsivus
• English repulsion

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.