terminator

Forms

terminātor m (genitive terminātōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin terminō (“to mark the boundaries, limit”) + -tor, an agent noun.^[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary calls it a Late Latin formation.^[1] The verb comes from terminus (“boundary-post”), which de Vaan derives from termen (“boundary-stone”);^[5] that noun goes back to Proto-Italic *ter-mn- (“boundary stone”) and Proto-Indo-European *ter-mn- (“peg, post”).^[5] De Vaan finds the PIE root itself unclear.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine uses it in the De civitate Dei (413–426 AD) for one who sets bounds.^[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it is a rare agent noun, "one who fixes limits", attested in Augustine.^[2][3] In medieval Latin it named the holder of an office in the church of Palermo and other churches, the terminatio that a charter of Frederick II of 1211 lists among its benefices,^[8] and the officials who fixed boundaries, beside assessors and inspectors of measures, in a letter of Charles V of France of 1366.^[8] British medieval Latin used it for what forms a boundary, such as the horizon as the limit of sight, and for one who settles disputes, a judge.^[4] English borrowed the word in 1734 as an astronomical term for the line between the lit and dark parts of a moon or planet.^[9]

Timeline

• 413–426 AD – Augustine uses it of one who sets bounds in the De civitate Dei.^[2][6]
• 1211 – A charter of Frederick II for the church of Palermo lists the office of terminatio, whose holder Du Cange calls terminator.^[8]
• 1366 – Letters of Charles V of France list terminatores, officials who fix boundaries.^[8]
• 1734 – Borrowed into English as an astronomical term, terminator.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. One who sets bounds or limits.^[2][3][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) An official who fixes boundaries.^[8]
3. (Medieval Latin) What forms a boundary or limit, as the horizon bounding the sight.^[4]
4. (Medieval Latin) One who settles disputes; a judge.^[4]

Related words

• terminus
• termen
• terminātiō
• English terminator

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com