Etymologically
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substantialis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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