Etymologically
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strictim

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈstrɪk.tĩː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈstrik.tim][1]

Forms

strictim (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin strictus (“drawn tight, close”) with the adverbial suffix -im,[2][3] and that participle belongs to stringō (“to draw tight”).[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,[4][5] meaning “close to the skin”: utrum strictimne attōnsūrum dīcam esse an per pectinem nesciō, “I don't know whether to say he will shear him close or over the comb”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense “closely, tightly” is rare and occurs before and after the classical period, in Plautus, Palladius and Apuleius.[2] The figurative sense “briefly, cursorily” is common in classical prose, in Varro, Cicero, Quintilian and Suetonius,[2][3] and Cicero also uses it for looking at something only superficially.[2]

British Medieval Latin used it both for “closely, tightly” and for “summarily”, and later also for “exactly”, of measurements.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of shearing close to the skin.[3][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of things said briefly.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of speaking briefly and of a superficial look.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a summary treatment.[2][5]
  • 1420 – A York record uses it for exact measurements.[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Close to the body or skin, closely, tightly; compactly.[3][2]
  2. Cursorily, summarily, briefly; superficially.[3][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Exactly, precisely.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ 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