seriosus

Forms

sēriōsus (feminine sēriōsa, neuter sēriōsum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sērius (“serious, earnest”) + -ōsus.^[1][2][3] It is the source of French sérieux and Italian serioso,^[1] and through Old French serios of English serious.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record Köbler gives is from the mid-11th century,^[3] in the sense “serious, earnest”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It kept the sense “serious, grave”: Vincent of Beauvais describes a man as multumque sēriōsus et gravis in mōribus, “very serious and grave in his ways”,^[5] and a papal letter of 1299 urges per sēriōsās litterās, “by earnest letters”.^[6] Neo-Latin writers still used it, among them Aurispa and Bruno.^[7]

Timeline

• mid 11th century – First recorded.^[3]
• 1299 – A papal letter uses it for “earnest”.^[6]
• early 15th century – English serious appears, from Old French and Late Latin.^[4]
• 1535 – A document speaks of a sēriōsa et omnimoda mēns, a serious and complete intention.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) serious, earnest, grave.^[2][6][1]

Related words

• sērius

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de