Etymologically
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secretarium

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [seː.kreːˈtaː.ri.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [se.kreˈtaː.ri.um][1]

Forms

sēcrētārium n (genitive sēcrētāriī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēcrētus (“set apart, secret”) + -ārium.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is post-classical.[3] The first author to use it is Apuleius, who speaks of fires “held in the hidden places of the earth” (ignes quī terrae sēcrētāriīs continentur), that is, of a secluded or hidden place.[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Its general sense was a retreat or hiding place.[2][3] In Late Latin it became the room set apart where judges heard cases, a sense found in Lactantius and the law codes;[3][6] an inscription uses it of a meeting hall of the Senate.[7] Among Christians it named the clergy's place of assembly or conclave[3] and the sacristy of a church, as in Sulpicius Severus,[4][6] and Augustine used it figuratively for the inner sanctuary of the mind (sēcrētārium mentis).[4][6]

In Medieval Latin it kept the senses of court room and church assembly hall, and also meant the king's private council chamber, a session of a church council, a vestry or parlour of a church, and the office of a sexton.[8] Du Cange records it also for a reliquary and for a crypt.[9] Stelten gives a private chapel as an Ecclesiastical Latin sense.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of the hidden places of the earth.[3][4][5]
  • c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius uses it for the judges' council chamber.[3][6][5]
  • c. 363–c. 420 AD – Sulpicius Severus uses it for the sacristy of a church.[4][6][5]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine speaks of the sēcrētārium mentis, the sanctuary of the mind.[4][6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A secluded or hidden place, a retreat.[2][3]
  2. (Late Latin) A council chamber where judges sat, a court room; also a meeting hall of the Senate.[3][7][6]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A place of assembly of the clergy, a conclave; the session of a church council.[3][8]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A sacristy or vestry; a private chapel.[4][8][10]
  5. (figurative) An inner sanctuary: sēcrētārium mentis, the innermost part of the mind.[4][6]
  6. (Medieval Latin) The king's private council chamber.[8]
  7. (Medieval Latin) The office of a sexton.[8]
  8. (Medieval Latin) A reliquary; a crypt.[9]

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 d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson