suicidium

Forms

suīcīdium n (genitive suīcīdiī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin suī (“of oneself”) + -cīdium (“killing”), a New Latin word;^[1][2] the second part comes from caedō (“to strike down, kill”).^[2][3] Wiktionary notes that its use in New Latin and the Romance languages is attested later than English suicide, and perhaps comes from it,^[1] and Etymonline calls the word probably an English coinage.^[2] The agent noun suīcīda (“self-killer”) appears in Walter of Saint Victor about 1177, but neither word is otherwise found in the Middle Ages.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sources give no early date for the Latin noun;^[2] English suicide, which Etymonline derives from it, is recorded from the 1650s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means the deliberate killing of oneself.^[4][3][1] Latin purists objected to the coinage: Phillips' dictionary of 1671 remarked that it could as well seem to contain sūs (“sow”) as the pronoun suī.^[2] Du Cange's glossary has only a cross-reference under the word.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1177 – Walter of Saint Victor uses the related suīcīda, “self-killer”.^[1]
• 1650s – English suicide is recorded, from the New Latin word.^[2]
• 1671 – Phillips' New World of Words objects to the formation.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (New Latin) Suicide, the killing of oneself.^[4][3][1]

Related words

• suī
• caedō
• English suicide

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
5. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre