responsivus
Forms
respōnsīvus (feminine respōnsīva, neuter respōnsīvum); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin respondeō (“to answer”).[1][2] The DMLBS labels it Late Latin.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It first appears in Julius Rufinianus' treatise on figures of thought, where a sententia responsiva renders Ancient Greek ἀποφώνημα (apophṓnēma), a reply in the form of a maxim.[4][1] An uncertain reading in Isidore of Seville also has it.[4]
Semantic evolution
The grammarians applied it to words used in replying: Priscian speaks of such verbs and Asper of such pronouns.[4][1]
In medieval British Latin it meant giving a reply in general, as a conclusion offered in answer to a question in Ockham;[3] littera responsiva was a letter written in reply, and the feminine alone was used as a noun for such a reply.[3]
Timeline
- 6th century AD – Priscian applies it to verbs used in replies.[4][2]
- 1243 – A royal letter mentions a litteram responsivam, a letter in reply.[3]
- 1290 – The feminine is used as a noun for a written reply.[3]
Meanings
Adjective
- Answering, serving as a reply.[4][1]
- (rhetoric) sententia responsīva: a reply in the form of a maxim.[1]
- (grammar) Used in replying (of words).[4][1][3]
- (Medieval Latin) littera responsīva: a letter in reply; the feminine responsīva as a noun, a written reply.[3]
Related words
- respōnsum
- respōnsiō
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e f g 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
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press