Etymologically
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selectus

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Forms

sēlectus (feminine sēlecta, neuter sēlectum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēligō (“to pick out, select”): the perfect participle of that verb, used as an adjective.[1][2][3] The verb is a compound of sē- (“apart”) and legō2 (“to gather, choose”).[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Horace has iūdex sēlectus, a juror chosen by the praetor for the list of judges.[2][1]

Semantic evolution

Besides the senses of the verb (“picked out, chosen”), it was a term of the courts: a iūdex sēlectus was apparently a juror appointed by the praetor to the official list, and under the empire perhaps a juror of the equestrian panels, as owing his place to the emperor.[1] Seneca uses the phrase too.[2] Augustine writes of the dī sēlectī, the select (chief) gods.[2]

Medieval British writers use it for “chosen, choice, select”, of a poem as of priests chosen to lead the others.[5]

Timeline

  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses iūdex sēlectus.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the same phrase.[2][6]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine writes of the dī sēlectī.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Chosen, picked out, select.[1][2][5]
  2. iūdex sēlectus: a juror chosen by the praetor for the list of judges.[1][2][3]
  3. dī sēlectī: the select (chief) gods.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b 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
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de