Etymologically
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spatior

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈspa.ti.ɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈspat.t͡si.or][1]

Forms

spatior (present infinitive spatiārī, perfect active spatiātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin spatium (“space, room, distance”), with the verbal ending ⟨-ō⟩, a deponent verb.[2][3][1] De Vaan finds no sure etymology for spatium: a derivation from a participle meaning fattened, extended is possible but cannot be confirmed, and a link with pateō (“to be open”) is difficult.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest example is a verse inscription addressing the passing traveller who walks by with a carefree mind.[2] Cicero uses it in the Pro Roscio Amerino of a man who sat down and then walked about.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means to take a walk or stroll, especially slowly, as Cicero's walk in a colonnade, Horace's on the sunny rampart, and Propertius' and Ovid's in the shade of Pompey's portico.[3][2] Döderlein explains that it denotes walking in open space, as a stroll out of doors, where ambulō is a leisurely walk up and down.[5] In poetry it is also to move along or proceed, as Virgil's Dido walking before the altars and his crow pacing alone on the dry sand.[3] Of things it means to spread out, as Ovid's spreading wings and Pliny the Elder's roots spreading near the surface.[3][2] Church Latin glosses it to walk about, promenade.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of walking about.[3][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of Dido walking before the altars.[3][7]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of a stroll on the rampart.[3][7]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of spreading wings.[2][3][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of roots spreading.[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To walk about, especially slowly; to stroll, promenade; to move along, proceed.[2][3][1]
  2. Of things, to spread out, be extended, expand.[2][3][1]

Word family

  • expatior
  • exspatior
  • spatiātor
  • spatiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de