signatorius

Forms

signātōrius (feminine signātōria, neuter signātōrium); first/second-declension adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin signō (“to mark, seal”) + -tōrius.^[1] Georges derives it from signātor.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Valerius Maximus,^[4] who speaks of the ring a man used as his seal (anulus, quo signatorio utebatur).^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The jurists of the Digest use anulus signatorius for a signet ring.^[5][3][2] The neuter signatorium became a noun for a seal: Cassian uses it figuratively and Alcimus Avitus in a letter,^[3][2][6] and a glossary renders it with Ancient Greek σφραγιστήριον (sphragistḗrion).^[3]

British medieval Latin used it of a letter bearing an official seal,^[7] and in Amerbach's Neo-Latin letters it describes the letters of the alphabet that mark the quires of a printed book.^[8] English signatory, first “used in sealing”, comes from it.^[9]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Valerius Maximus uses it of a ring used as a seal.^[3][5][4]
• 1st half of the 3rd century AD – Paul uses anulus signatorius in the Digest.^[5][3][4]
• c. 360–c. 435 AD – Cassian uses the noun signatorium figuratively.^[6][4]
• c. 451–518 AD – Alcimus Avitus uses signatorium for a seal.^[3][2][4]
• 1640s – English borrows it as signatory.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Used for or concerned with sealing;^[1][5][3] anulus signatorius: a signet ring.^[1][5][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) Of a letter: bearing an official seal.^[7]
3. (New Latin) Marking the signature (the quire) of a printed book.^[8]

Noun

1. signātōrium n: a seal, also figuratively.^[3][2][6]

Related words

• signātor
• English signatory

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com