revolutio

Forms

revolūtiō f (genitive revolūtiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin revolvō (“to roll back”) + -tiō.^[1][2] The verb is re- added to volvō (“to roll, cause to go round”),^[3] which goes back to Proto-Italic *welu-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *uel-u- (“to wind”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Late Latin word, used where earlier writers had conversiō.^[4] The earliest datable uses are in Jerome, of rolling something away,^[5][6] and in Augustine's City of God, where it means a return or a cyclical passage.^[5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

From the literal rolling back or away (said of the stone before Christ's tomb) the word passed to the idea of coming round again: a return, a recurring cycle,^[2][5] and in Martianus Capella the course of the moon.^[2]

In British medieval Latin it kept the sense of rolling back or aside, also meant the unrolling or opening of a book and so an explanation, and above all a revolving or circular movement, used of the heavenly bodies and of the cyclical passing of time.^[7] English took the word over in the late 14th century, first of the revolutions of celestial bodies, through Old French or directly from Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it of rolling something away.^[5][6]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for a return, a cyclical passage.^[2][5][6]
• first third of the 8th century – Bede uses it, in his commentary on Mark, of the stone rolled away by the angel.^[7][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as revolucioun, first of the motion of the heavens.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A rolling back or away.^[2][5]
2. (Late Latin) A return, a cyclical recurrence; a revolution.^[4][2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) An unrolling or opening of a book; an explanation.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) A revolving or circular movement, especially of the heavenly bodies or of time.^[7]

Related words

• English revolution

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com