Etymologically
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stipendium

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [stiːˈpɛn.di.ũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [stiˈpɛn.di.um][1]

Forms

stīpendium n (genitive stīpendiī or stīpendī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin stips (“small coin”) + pendo (“to weigh out, pay”), shortened from *stipipendium.[2][1][3] Varro already linked it with stips.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has a character paying mercenaries their wage, and uses it of a season of service.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It was the soldiers' regular pay, first paid at the end of a campaign, and stīpendia merēre meant to serve for pay.[2] By metonymy it was a year of service or a campaign.[2][1] It was also a cash payment levied on conquered states, later a permanent tax, and Lewis & Short note it was paid in money, unlike vectīgal, paid in kind.[2][3] Livy uses it of a salary paid from public funds.[2]

In medieval Latin it was the wages of civilians, a dole for the poor and the allowance of clerics.[5] In British sources it was pay for military service, often with reference to 1 Corinthians 9:7.[6] English stipend is recorded in the early 15th century as a periodical payment.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of mercenaries' pay.[2][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses stīpendia merēre of his service.[2][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of tribute.[8][4]
  • early 15th century – English stipend is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Soldiers' pay, stīpendia merēre to serve.[2][3]
  2. A year of military service; a campaign.[2][1]
  3. A tax or tribute paid in money.[2][8]
  4. An income, salary, stipend.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Civil wages; a dole.[5]

Word family

  • stipendialis
  • stipendiārius
  • stīpendior
  • stipendiosus
  • stīpendiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.