subtractio

Forms

subtractiō f (genitive subtractiōnis); third declension^[1] Köbler records the spellings substractio and subtraxio.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin subtrahō (“to draw away, withdraw”) + -tiō.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first record is the Vulgate,^[2] where in the Epistle to the Hebrews it is a drawing back, translating the Greek ὑποστολή (hupostolḗ).^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

From a drawing back or withdrawal^[4][3] it became the arithmetical term for subtraction in Boethius.^[5] Medieval charters used it for the removal of property and for encroachment,^[6] and British Medieval Latin for withdrawal and removal, the withdrawal of a suit at law, the withholding of something due, and a reduction.^[7] Köbler adds the spellings substractio and subtraxio.^[2]

Italian sottrazione goes back to it,^[5] and English took subtraction about 1400, first in the sense “withdrawal, removal”.^[8]

Timeline

• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for a drawing back.^[4][2]
• 6th century AD – Boethius uses it for arithmetical subtraction.^[5]
• c. 1400 – English borrows subtraction.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A drawing back, withdrawal.^[4][3]
2. (Late Latin, mathematics) Subtraction.^[5][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) Removal of property; encroachment.^[6]
4. (Medieval Latin) Withholding of something due; reduction.^[7]

Related words

• English subtraction

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b 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
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com