Etymologically
Log in

stimulatio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 19:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [stɪ.mʊˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [sti.muˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

stimulātiō f (genitive stimulātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin stimulō (“to goad, urge”) + -tiō.[2][3] Its base comes from stimulus (“goad, spur”).[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD),[2][5] meaning a spur to action: erat haec stimulatio ingens, “this was a great incitement”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[7] Tacitus uses it of the private motive that drove each man (privata cuique stimulatio).[2][6]

British medieval Latin used it for pricking with a goad or other point, for a piercing pain, and for the stirring of the emotions; in the Life of Guthlac by Felix it is glossed with Old English sticel.[8] English borrowed it in the 1520s for the act of pricking or stirring to action.[3]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of an incitement.[2][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of each man's private motive.[2][5]
  • 1520s – Borrowed into English as stimulation.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Incitement to action, a spur or stimulus.[2][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Pricking with a goad or other point; a piercing pain.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) The stirring of the emotions.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ 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