Etymologically
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tergiversatio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tɛr.ɡɪ.wɛrˈsaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ter.d͡ʒi.verˈsat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

tergiversātiō f (genitive tergiversātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tergiversor (“to turn one's back, hang back”) + -tiō.[2][1][3] De Vaan lists that verb, from Sisenna on, among the derivatives of tergum (“back”),[4] whose own origin he considers unclear.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,[5] who in the Pro Milone asks what reason there was for delay and hanging back (quid ergō erat morae et tergiversātiōnis?).[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Cicero also writes in a letter that he approves of someone's evasion (tergiversātiōnem istam probō),[6][7] and it occurs in the Bellum Africum and in Seneca.[6][8] Frontinus has the plural of the many shifts by which a censorship was dragged out.[7] In ecclesiastical Latin it meant subterfuge, evasion or refusal.[9]

In medieval Britain it was used literally of turning one's back in flight, as by Orderic Vitalis, and of turning one's back on a task or obligation;[10] Bede uses it of tricks and evasions.[10] English borrowed it in the 1560s as tergiversation.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of delay and evasion.[6][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.[8][5]
  • first third of the 8th century AD – Bede uses it of tricks and evasions.[10][5]
  • 1120–1141 – Orderic Vitalis uses it of turning one's back in flight.[10][5]
  • 1560s – Borrowed into English as tergiversation.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Hanging back, hesitation, delay.[2][8]
  2. Evasion, subterfuge, refusal.[6][7][9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A turning of one's back, withdrawal, flight.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b 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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ a b c d e 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