rotatio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [rɔˈtaː.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [roˈtat.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

rotātiō f (genitive rotātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from rotō “to turn round” with the suffix -tiō, from rota “wheel”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Vitruvius, whom he dates c. 84–c. 25 BC, and Vitruvius uses it of the turning of a compass.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant movement round an axis, rotation, a wheeling in a circle.^[2][5]

In Medieval Latin it meant breaking on the wheel.^[6] It gave English rotation in the 1550s, “act of rotating”.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it.^[4][5]
• 1550s – English rotation is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A turning, rotation.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) Breaking on the wheel.^[6]

Related words

• rotō
• rota
• English rotation

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill