superficialis

Forms

superficiālis (neuter superficiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis.^[1][2][3] Etymonline analyses superficiēs as super “above” and faciēs “form, face”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first known use is in Tertullian, who speaks of superficial duties, in the figurative sense of superficial.^[5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Literally it meant relating to a surface: Isidore and Cassiodorus use it for a plane number, one that has breadth as well as length.^[5][2][7] Medieval writers in Britain used it of surfaces in general, of two-dimensional figures in geometry and of a number that is the product of two factors.^[8] From the Late Latin word come Italian superficiale, French superficiel and English superficial, first used in anatomy.^[1][4]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it figuratively, of superficial duties.^[5][6]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of plane numbers.^[5][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore defines the superficial (plane) number.^[7][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as superficial, in anatomy.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Relating to a surface; of a number, plane, having length and breadth.^[5][2][7]
2. (Late Latin, figurative) superficial, cursory.^[5][2]
3. (Medieval Latin, geometry) Two-dimensional; of a number, the product of two factors.^[8]

Related words

• faciēs
• superficiārius
• superficiēs
• English superficial

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
8. ^ 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