subiectivus

Forms

subiectīvus (feminine subiectīva, neuter subiectīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin subiectus + -īvus,^[1][2] from the past participle of subiciō (“to place under; to add”); the OLD derives it from the verb itself.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The grammarian Terentius Scaurus uses it of a letter that can only follow another sound, never precede it: of ⟨l⟩ he says that it is put before no consonant and has only “subjective” force.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Tertullian uses it for “added, placed after”,^[4][6] and the land surveyor Agennius applies it, apparently, to boundary disputes settled on grounds other than the original ones.^[3] In logic it described the subject of a proposition: Apuleius and Martianus Capella call the subject the pars subiectiva, and Martianus also has the adverb subiectīvē.^[7][4]

Medieval Latin used it for what is subject or subordinate to something, and for the submission and humble obedience of a subject.^[8][9] In scholastic philosophy, Thomas Aquinas uses it for what belongs to the subject, as opposed to obiectivus.^[10] English took it over about 1500 in the sense “submissive, obedient”.^[11]

Timeline

• 1st half of the 2nd century AD – Terentius Scaurus uses it of a sound that only follows another.^[3][5][2]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it for the subject of a proposition.^[7][4][2]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it for “added, placed after”.^[4][6][2]
• 4th–5th century AD – Agennius uses it in the law of boundary disputes.^[3][2]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella has it, with the adverb subiectīvē, in logic.^[7][2]
• 1295 – A Canterbury register calls the churches of a province subordinate to it like daughters.^[8]
• 1405 – A Veronese document uses it of a gesture of submission.^[9]
• c. 1500 – Borrowed into English as subjective.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (grammar) Placed after something else, postpositional.^[3][5]
2. Added, appended.^[4][6]
3. (of boundary disputes, apparently) Based on other than the original grounds.^[3]
4. (logic) Belonging to the subject of a proposition;^[7][4] pars subiectīva, the subject.^[7][4]
5. (Medieval Latin) Subordinate, subject (to someone); submissive, humbly obedient.^[8][12]
6. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Belonging to the subject, subjective, as opposed to obiectivus.^[10]

Related words

• subiectus
• subiciō
• English subjective

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
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 c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d e 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
9. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
10. ^ a b Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson