tetrarches

Forms

tetrarchēs m (genitive tetrarchae); first declension^[1] Late Latin also has tetrarcha.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τετράρχης (tetrárkhēs, “ruler of a fourth part”).^[4][2][5] Köbler explains the Greek word from τετρα- (tetra-, “four”) and ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses it in his letters to Atticus and in several speeches, including the Philippics and the speech for king Deiotarus.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It was first the ruler of one of four provinces that made up a larger kingdom, and then the title of a minor king under Roman protection in certain eastern provinces.^[4][2] Caesar, Sallust, Velleius, Horace, Lucan and Tacitus use it.^[2] The Vulgate has the form tetrarcha, in the Gospels.^[2] English tetrarch goes back to late Old English, from that Late Latin form.^[3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero, of eastern princes.^[2][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar.^[2][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate has the form tetrarcha.^[2][5]
• late Old English – tetrarch appears in English.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tetrarch, ruler of a fourth part of a kingdom; a minor king under Roman protection, a petty prince.^[4][2][1]

Related words

• English tetrarch

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de