Etymologically
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termen

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtɛr.mɛn][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɛr.men][1]

Forms

termen n (genitive terminis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ter-mn̥ (“boundary stone”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ter-mn̥ (“peg, post”).[2][1] De Vaan thinks the PIE word named a concrete object, a peg, which came to mean a boundary stone, and so doubts a derivation from *terh₂- “to cross over”.[2] Cognate with Oscan teremenniú (“boundary stones”), Umbrian termnome (“to the boundary stone”), Venetic termonios (“of the boundary”), Ancient Greek τέρμα (térma, “goal, end”) and Hittite tarma- (“peg, nail”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from inscriptions and Accius,[2] and Gaffiot cites Varro and an inscription.[4] Köbler dates Accius 170–c. 90 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a boundary stone or post, and also the deity who presided over it.[3] It was an older or rarer form beside terminus, which Latin built on the stem *termn-.[2][1]

In medieval British charters it was a boundary or limit, as land granted with its proper bounds.[6] Through terminus it is the source of English term, first “a limit in time”, about 1200.[7]

Timeline

  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses the word.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a boundary stone.[4][5]
  • 785 – A British charter grants land with its proper boundaries.[6]
  • c. 1200 – English term is recorded, from terminus.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A boundary stone or post; its presiding god.[3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A boundary, limit.[6]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c 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
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com