seductio

Forms

sēductiō f (genitive sēductiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin sēdūcō + -tiō.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC)^[3] has it in the speech for Murena, in seductiones testium, the taking of witnesses aside.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant the act of taking someone aside, and it is very rare.^[2][4] Lactantius used it for a separation, calling death the separation of body and soul.^[4][5] In Christian Latin it came to mean leading astray, seduction: Tertullian writes that Adam confessed the seduction and did not hide the seductress, and the Vulgate uses it in Jeremiah and in 2 Thessalonians.^[4][5] Medieval Latin kept the sense of deception and corruption,^[6] as when Bede fears that the faith of the elect might be corrupted by heretical seduction.^[7] The word lives on in French séduction, Italian seduzione and Spanish seducción.^[1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of seductiones testium in the speech for Murena.^[4][2]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it for Adam's being led astray.^[4][3]
• beginning of 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian uses it for seduction or corruption.^[8][3]
• c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius calls death the separation of body and soul.^[4][3]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the plural in the Confessions.^[5][3]
• 1520s – Borrowed into English, through French, as seduction.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of taking someone aside.^[2][4]
2. (Late Latin) Separation.^[4][5]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A leading astray, seduction, deception.^[4][10][6]

Related words

• English seduction

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ 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. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson