Etymologically
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taxa

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Forms

taxa f (genitive taxae); first declension[1][2] Also spelled tasca, tascha and tasta.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin taxō (“to assess, value”), a medieval formation.[2][4][3] In British sources it goes with Anglo-Norman taxe and Middle English taxe.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler, following Niermeyer, dates it to 802, for a levy or tax, including a share of the harvest.[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval charters and accounts it was a sum imposed and exacted, a tax,[5][3] and in British sources from the 14th century also the assessment by which a payment was fixed.[3] It could also mean a fixed piece of work paid by the piece.[2][5] In Church usage it was a fee, especially for handling judicial cases.[1] Italian tassa comes from the medieval Latin word.[4]

Timeline

  • 802 – First recorded, for a levy or tax.[2]
  • 1341 – A British inquisition uses it for the assessment of tithes and dues.[3]
  • 1425 – An English account pays a thresher ad taxam, by the piece.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A tax, levy, impost.[5][3][2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) An assessment of what is to be paid.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A fixed task, piecework.[5][2]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A fee, especially for handling a judicial case.[1]

Usage notes

Classical Latin has a different taxa, a kind of laurel named once by Pliny the Elder (Natural History 15.130),[6][7][8] which Köbler connects with taxus “yew”.[2] Du Cange also records a taxa “purse, pouch” in a letter of remission of 1382.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  4. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.