Etymologically
Log in

restitutio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 14:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

restitūtiō f (genitive restitūtiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin restituō (“to restore”) + -tiō, a noun of action.[2][1] That verb is a compound of re- (“back, again”) and statuō (“to set up”).[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,[4] who speaks of the restitutio damnatorum, the reinstatement of condemned men, and of his own restoration to his former fortune.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means rebuilding: Livy has the restitutio of a temple, and Suetonius that of the Palatine house destroyed by fire, of Pompey's theatre and of the towns struck by Vesuvius.[2][5] More widely it is the renewal of something lost, such as liberty or a former fortune.[2][5] Cicero uses it of the recall of an exile, his own included.[2][6] In law restitutio in integrum was the praetor's annulment of proceedings that put the parties back where they had started,[2][6] and the jurists use it of returning property to its owner and of handing over the accounts of a guardianship.[2][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means restitution and reinstatement.[7] Medieval writers in Britain use it of the restoring of health, of buildings and of a former state in general.[8] English took it over in the early 14th century as restitution, first for making good a debt or injury.[9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the reinstatement of condemned men.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of the rebuilding of a temple.[2][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of rebuilding after a fire.[2][4]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of returning property to its owner.[2][4]
  • early 14th century – English borrows it as restitution.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Rebuilding, restoration of a structure.[2][5]
  2. Re-establishment, renewal of something lost.[2][5]
  3. Reinstatement of an exile or a condemned person.[2][6]
  4. (law) restitūtiō in integrum: the annulment of proceedings that restores the parties to their former position.[2][6]
  5. (law) Return of property to its owner, restitution; the rendering of a guardian's accounts.[2][5]
  6. (Medieval Latin) Restoration of health.[8]
  • English restitution

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com