syntheticus

Forms

syntheticus (feminine synthetica, neuter syntheticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek συνθετικός (sunthetikós, “skilled in putting together”).^[2][1][3] Köbler connects it with synthesis.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The comic poet Titinius uses it of a garment, one belonging to the synthesis, the set of clothes worn at dinner.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a rare word for clothing.^[2][5] Köbler records a medieval sense “consumptive” from before 1250.^[4] In New Latin it meant “synthetic”;^[1] English took the word, from French and directly from Modern Latin, in the 1690s as a term of logic meaning “deductive”.^[3]

Timeline

• end of the 2nd or beginning of the 1st century BC – Titinius uses it of a dinner garment.^[5][4]
• before 1250 – Köbler records the sense “consumptive”.^[4]
• 1690s – Borrowed into English as synthetic, in logic.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of garments) Forming part of a synthesis, the dinner dress.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) Consumptive.^[4]
3. (New Latin) Synthetic.^[1]

Related words

• synthesis
• English synthetic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier