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synthesis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word synthesis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
40–102/103 AD, Martial
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek σύνθεσις
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek σύνθεσις
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin synthesis
English synthesis

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsyn.tʰɛ.sɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsin.te.s̬is][1]

Forms

synthesis f (genitive synthesis or syntheseōs or synthesios); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σύνθεσις (súnthesis, “a putting together, composition”),[2][1][3] from συντίθημι (suntíthēmi, “to put together, combine”), from σύν (sún, “together”) and τίθημι (títhēmi, “to set, place”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Martial uses it for a set of matching garments worn at dinner, mocking a host who rose eleven times at one meal and changed his synthesis eleven times.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 1st century AD the word meant a set of matching things: a service of plate in Martial and Statius,[4][5] a suit of clothes,[4] and above all the loose dinner dress.[2][4] The Digest has it for a set of clothes.[4] In medicine, in Serenus Sammonicus, it is a mixture or compound,[4][5] and in Ecclesiastical Latin a joining together.[6] An inscription spells it sintes-.[2]

English borrowed the word in the 1610s for deductive reasoning, the combination of separate ideas into a whole.[7]

Timeline

  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it for a dinner suit and a service of plate.[2][4][3]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses it for a set of plate.[4][5][3]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it.[3]
  • 533 AD – The Digest uses it for a suit of clothes.[4][3]
  • 1610s – English borrows it as synthesis “deductive reasoning”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A set of matching articles, a service of plate.[2][4]
  2. A suit of clothes; especially a loose garment worn at dinner.[2][4]
  3. (medicine) A mixture, compound.[4][5]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A joining together.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: 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 e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Synthesis.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/synthesis. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·