revocatio

Forms

revocātiō f (genitive revocātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin revocō (“to call back”) + -tiō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,^[4] who uses it for the repetition of a word as a figure of speech in De oratore,^[5][6] and in the Philippics for a recall from war: receptui signum aut revocationem a bello audire non possumus, “we cannot listen to the signal for retreat or a recall from war”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Cicero also uses it figuratively, of calling the mind back to the contemplation of pleasures.^[7][5] Vitruvius has the plural for the moon's drawing away from the sun.^[7][5] In law it named the transfer of a case back to the defendant's place of domicile (revocatio domum),^[2][8] and in the Digest a cancellation or annulment.^[2] Quintilian keeps the rhetorical sense of repetition.^[6]

In British medieval Latin it meant a recall, also from exile or outlawry, and in law the bringing of a charge again.^[9] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for a revocation, the abolition of earlier laws by new ones.^[10] English took it over as revocation from Old French and directly from Latin.^[11]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the repetition of a word, for a recall from war and figuratively.^[2][5][4]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses the plural of the moon drawing away from the sun.^[7][5][4]
• 49–41 BC – An inscription uses it of transferring a case back to the defendant's domicile.^[2][12]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it for the repetition of a word.^[6][4]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it for a cancellation.^[2][4]
• c. 1330 – A British letter speaks of a recall from studies.^[9]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as revocation.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A recalling, summoning back.^[2][7][5]
2. (figurative) A calling back of the mind to something.^[7][5]
3. (plural) A drawing away, as of the moon from the sun.^[2][7]
4. (law) The transfer of a case back to the defendant's domicile.^[2][8]
5. (rhetoric) The repetition of a word.^[2][5][6]
6. (law) Cancellation, annulment.^[2]
7. (Medieval Latin) A recall from exile or outlawry;^[9] (law) the bringing of a charge again.^[9]
8. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Revocation of earlier laws by new ones.^[10]

Related words

• revocō
• English revocation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Kaše, Vojtěch; Heřmánková, Petra; Sobotková, Adéla et al. (2024), LIST: Latin Inscriptions in Space and Time, v1.2 (EDCS + EDH), Aarhus: SDAM, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10473706