subversio

Forms

subversiō f (genitive subversiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin subvertō (“to overturn”) + -tiō, an action noun from the verb.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is Late Latin:^[2][4] the first author the dictionaries cite is Arnobius, who writes of the overthrow of the human race.^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Arnobius also has the plural, of minds being overturned,^[2] and the Vulgate uses it for the destruction of cities.^[2][5] It stayed in Ecclesiastical and Medieval Latin for ruin and destruction,^[7][8] in British sources especially of buildings and settlements, and for the overthrow of a law, a rule or a person.^[4]

From it, through Old French, comes English subversion, recorded from the late 14th century.^[9]

Timeline

• 297–310 AD – Arnobius writes of the overthrow of the human race.^[2][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for the destruction of cities.^[2][5][6]
• 1166 – John of Salisbury uses it for the overthrow of the house of the Lord in a letter.^[4]
• 1259 – A royal letter speaks of the subversion of the laws and customs of the kingdom.^[4]
• late 14th century – English borrows the word, through Old French, as subversion.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An overturning, overthrow; ruin, destruction.^[2][3][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) The overthrow of a law, rule or condition, or of a person; subversion.^[8][4]

Related words

• English subversion

References

1. ^ a b 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 Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e 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
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 c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com