resistentia

Forms

resistentia f (genitive resistentiae); first declension^[1] Köbler also lists the spelling ⟨resistantia⟩.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin resistēns (“resisting”) + -ia, formed on the present participle of resistō (“to stand against, withstand, resist”).^[1][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine is its first author, in his work on the merits and remission of sins.^{[4][3][6][7][2]}

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short calls it a Late Latin word for the older repugnantia.^[4] Du Cange finds it everywhere in late writers.^[8] In Medieval Latin it meant the hindering of an action or process, opposition, and armed resistance;^[9] resistentiam facere was “to offer resistance”, and it could also be the power of resisting.^[9] In natural philosophy it was the resistance of a medium to motion: Bacon reasons that if there were no resistance, motion would need no time.^[9] The Ancrene Riwle renders it with Middle English stondunge.^[9] A decree of 1439 complains of the many resistentiae that Gabriel, formerly Pope Eugene IV, had set against this work.^[8]

It lives on in Italian resistenza, French résistance and Spanish resistencia.^[1][7] English resistance came from Old French and directly from the Medieval Latin word.^[5]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of resistance.^[4][2]
• 1293 – A record says that no one may offer resistance, but must bring a wrong done by the king's officers before the king.^[9]
• 1332 – A chronicle tells of resistance met on the shore on entering Scotland.^[9]
• mid-14th century – English resistance is recorded.^[5]
• 1439 – A decree complains of the resistance of Eugene IV.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Resistance, opposition.^{[4][3][6][10][1]}
2. (Medieval Latin) A hindering or stopping of an action or process.^[9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Armed resistance;^[9] resistentiam facere: to offer resistance.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin, natural philosophy) The resistance of a medium to motion; the power of resisting.^[9]

Related words

• resistō
• English resistance

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson