Etymologically
Log in

substantialis

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word substantialis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 160–220 AD, Tertullian
Ultimate origin
Latin substantia
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin substantia
Latin substantialis

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sʊp.stan.tiˈaː.lɪs], [sʊp.stan.tiˈaː.liːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [sub.stan.t͡siˈaː.lis], [sub.stan.t͡siˈaː.lis][1]

Forms

substantiālis (neuter substantiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin substantia (“substance, essence”) + -ālis.[1][2][3] The English word substantial comes from it, partly through Old French substantiel.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian is the first to use it,[3] in On the Resurrection of the Flesh, of a difference of essence (differentia substantiālis).[2]

Semantic evolution

A post-classical word, it first meant belonging to the essence or substance of a thing, essential.[2] Ammianus Marcellinus applied it, in a transferred sense, to beings with a real existence of their own: he calls spirits substantiālēs potestātēs.[2] It stayed in Christian and scholastic Latin as “substantial”.[5][3]

In medieval Latin it could also mean “providing for one's maintenance”,[6] and “principal, essential”, as in a letter of Pope Boniface VIII of 1295 that speaks of things principal and substantial.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of a difference of essence.[2][3]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus calls spirits substantiālēs potestātēs.[2][3]
  • 1295 – A letter of Pope Boniface VIII uses it for “essential, principal”.[7]
  • mid-14th century – English takes it as substantial.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the essence or substance of a thing, essential.[2][1]
  2. Having a real existence of its own, substantive.[2][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Serving for maintenance.[6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Principal, chief.[7]

Word family

  • cōnsubstantiālis
  • substantiālitās
  • supersubstantiālis
  • substantiāliter

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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
Cite this entry

“Substantialis.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/substantialis. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·