suppositio

Forms

suppositiō f (genitive suppositiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin suppōnō + -tiō.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus (c. 250–184 BC)^[3] uses it in the Captivi, the Cistellaria and the Truculentus for the fraudulent introduction of a child into a family, as in pueri suppositio.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant the substitution of a child by fraud^[2][5] and the act of putting something underneath: Columella uses it of putting eggs under a hen.^[2][4] Hyginus tells how Oedipus learned of his own substitution.^[2][4] In Medieval Latin it came to mean an assumption or hypothesis.^[6][7] British Medieval Latin also used it for subordination, for the relation of a term to what it stands for (the “supposition” of scholastic logic), for a premiss, for a set of questions put to a witness, and for a structural support.^[7] Thomas Aquinas uses it for a putting under and for an assumption or underlying principle.^[8] In music theory of the 11th century it named an interval step lying below its neighbour.^[9] English took it over in the early 15th century as a term of scholastic logic.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for the substitution of a child.^[2][3]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it of putting eggs under a hen.^[2][3]
• c. 1197 – A charter uses it for the placing of witnesses' names below the text.^[7]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as supposition, a term of scholastic logic.^[10]
• 1552 – Used in England for questions drawn up for the examination of witnesses.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of placing underneath.^[2][5]
2. The fraudulent introduction of a child into a family, substitution.^[2][5][11]
3. (Medieval Latin) Assumption, hypothesis.^[6][7][8]
4. (Medieval Latin, logic) The relation of a term to what it stands for, supposition.^[7]
5. (Medieval Latin) Subordination, submission to authority.^[7]
6. (Medieval Latin, law) A set of questions to be put to a witness, an interrogatory.^[7]
7. (Medieval Latin) Structural support, underlaying.^[7]

Related words

• English supposition

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
9. ^ Lexicon musicum Latinum medii aevi (1992–), Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; online ed. Wörterbuchnetz
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier