talio

Forms

tāliō f (genitive tāliōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][3] Lewis & Short and Gaffiot derive it from tālis “such”, while the OLD compares Old Irish im-thānad (“alternation”) and Welsh tal (“payment”).^[4][5][2] Isidore explains it as the punishment by which one suffers just as one has done, tāliter.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Twelve Tables prescribe it for one who breaks a limb, unless he settles with the injured person, as Verrius Flaccus reports.^[4] Köbler dates the Twelve Tables c. 450 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a legal term for punishment like the injury inflicted, an eye for an eye, retaliation in kind.^[2][4] Cato, Cicero and Seneca the Elder use it, and Gellius discusses the law of the Twelve Tables on it.^[7][5] Martial uses sine tāliōne for “unpunished”.^[7] Döderlein distinguishes tāliō, retaliation, from vindicta, an act of justice, and ultiō, an act of anger.^[8]

In medieval Latin it was also a wergeld, an indemnity, and a present given in return.^[9] British writers used it of revenge and of reward for service.^[10] Its descendants include French talion and English talion.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables prescribe it.^[4][3]
• 234–149 BC – Cato mentions it.^[7][3]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius discusses it.^[5][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore defines it.^[6][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) Punishment in kind, retaliation, talion.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A wergeld; an indemnity; a return gift.^[9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Revenge; a reward.^[10]

Related words

• English tailor

Usage notes

A different, Late Latin word is the verb tāliō, tāliāre “to cut, prune”, related to tālea “rod, cutting”.^[1][7][11] It is the source of Italian tagliare and French tailler, and so of English tailor, “a cutter”.^[1][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
7. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com