syndicus

Forms

syndicus m (genitive syndicī); second declension^[1] Medieval spellings include sindicus, scindicus and cyndicus.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σύνδικος (súndikos, “advocate”),^[1][4][5] formed from σύν (sún, “together”) and δίκη (díkē, “justice, right”).^[3] As an adjective the Greek word meant “belonging jointly to”, and as a noun a public advocate.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the jurist Gaius, quoted in the Digest, for a person appointed to represent a corporation or collegium at law.^[4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Georges notes that the purely Latin word for this was actor.^[7] In texts of Roman law it was also used for the defensor civitatis, the city's advocate.^[8]

In medieval Latin it named a syndic, the plenipotentiary or proctor of a city magistrate,^[8] and generally a representative or agent in legal affairs; it is often paired with procurator, and in church use the priest saying “oremus” is compared to a syndic speaking for many.^[2] French took it as syndic in the 14th century, and English borrowed the French word about 1600 for a civil magistrate.^[6]

Timeline

• 140–180 AD – Gaius uses it for the legal representative of a corporation.^[4][3]
• 533 AD – The Digest uses it in several passages.^[5][3]
• 1279 – A Gascon roll pairs sindicus with procurator for the representative of a city community.^[2]
• c. 1600 – English borrows the French form as syndic.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) A representative of a corporation or collegium at law, a syndic.^[4][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) A city magistrate's proctor, a plenipotentiary.^[8]
3. (Medieval Latin) A representative or agent in legal affairs, an advocate.^[2]

Related words

• English syndic

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill