speculativus

Forms

speculātīvus (feminine speculātīva, neuter speculātīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin speculor (“to watch, observe”) + -īvus.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Boethius, in the first quarter of the 6th century AD,^[4] who uses it of speculative (theoretical) philosophy in his dialogues on Porphyry.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From Boethius on it meant “speculative, theoretical”;^[5][2] Cassiodorus used the feminine as a noun, speculātīva, for contemplative philosophy, as against the active.^[2][6] In medieval Latin from Britain it meant contemplative, already in Bede, and also watchful or vigilant.^[7] In scholastic Latin, as in Thomas Aquinas, it is the opposite of practical or operative, of knowledge pursued for its own sake.^[8]

It passed into Italian^[1][6] and into English as speculative, from Old French or directly from Late Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• first quarter of the 6th century AD – Boethius speaks of speculative philosophy.^[4][2]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses speculātīva as a noun for contemplative philosophy.^[2][4]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as speculative.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) speculative, theoretical, contemplative.^[5][2][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) watchful, vigilant.^[7]
3. (feminine as noun) speculātīva, contemplative or theoretical philosophy.^[2][6]

Related words

• English speculative

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c 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 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
8. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com