Etymologically
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technicus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɛkʰ.nɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɛk.ni.kus][1]

Forms

technicus (feminine technica, neuter technicum); first/second-declension adjective[1] As a noun: technicus, -ī m.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τεχνικός (tekhnikós, “skilful; an expert”),[2][3][4] from τέχνη (tékhnē, “art, skill, craft”).[4][5] Köbler connects the Greek noun with Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to weave, plait”) (Pokorny).[4] It is the source of Italian tecnico.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Quintilian speaks of the dēcrēta technicōrum, the rulings of the experts, in a passage on rhetoric;[2][7][6] the OLD notes the disparaging tone.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is a rare noun, an expert or master of an art.[2][7][8] In British Medieval Latin it still means an expert,[9] and Ecclesiastical Latin has it as an adjective, “technical”, with the adverb technicē.[10][1] English technical was formed in English, partly from the Latinized Greek word.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian writes of the rules of the technicī.[2][4]
  • 1610s – English technical is formed.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An expert in an art, a master or teacher of it (in Quintilian, of a rhetorician).[2][3][7]

Adjective

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) technical.[10][1]

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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c 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.
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson