Etymologically
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sanctus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈsaːŋk.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsaŋk.tus][1]

Forms

sānctus (feminine sāncta, neuter sānctum, comparative sānctior, superlative sānctissimus); first/second-declension participle[1]

Etymology

It is the perfect participle of sanciō “to make sacred, ratify”, from Proto-Italic *sanktos, participle of *sankjō “to consecrate”.[2][1] An inscription has the participle ⟨sancītō⟩.[2] Köbler compares a PIE root *sak- “to sanctify”, and Döderlein connected it with Ancient Greek ἁγνός (hagnós, “pure”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Livius Andronicus, of a holy god, and Ennius uses it of sacrosanct laws and holy things.[2] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant secured by religious sanction, inviolable, of laws, persons in office such as tribunes, places and oaths, and Ulpian gives a legal definition of it.[2][5] It meant holy, sacred, of things under divine protection, and of gods holy, blessed, as in Livius Andronicus, of poets and prophets, the dead, parents, and the senate.[2] From Cicero it meant morally upright, blameless, virtuous, and in Quintilian of style pure, chaste.[2] Döderlein explains that sacer is what belongs to the gods, sānctus what is under their protection.[4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant holy, saintly, godly, and as a noun a canonized saint, Sānctus is also the hymn of the Mass.[6] It passed through Old French saint into English saint in the early 12th century, and Sanctus itself, the angelic hymn, is recorded in English in the late 14th century.[7] It survives in Italian santo and Romanian sfânt.[1]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it of a god.[2][3]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of sacrosanct laws.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the morally upright.[2][3]
  • early 12th century – English saint is recorded, through Old French.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Sacrosanct, inviolable.[2]
  2. Holy, sacred.[2]
  3. Of gods, holy, blessed; of poets, the dead, parents, venerable.[2]
  4. Upright, blameless, virtuous; of style, pure.[2]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Saintly; as a noun, a saint.[6]

Word family

  • sānctificātiō
  • sānctificō
  • sānctimōnia

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com