theoria

Forms

theōria f (genitive theōriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θεωρία (theōría, “a looking at, contemplation, speculation”).^[1][2][3][4] Köbler connects the Greek noun with θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator, witness”) and θέα (théa, “a looking at”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero still wrote the word in Greek letters in a letter to Atticus.^[4] As a Latin word it appears in Jerome's commentary on Ezekiel, meaning philosophical speculation or theory.^[4][3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it named philosophical speculation and inquiry, in Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine and Cassian.^[5][6][7] The glossaries explain it with cōnsīderātiō and contemplātiō.^[8]

In Medieval Latin it became above all a word for religious contemplation and meditation, especially of God,^[9][10] and for a vision and the contemplative life;^[9][2] a saint's life describes someone moving from the active life towards theoria.^[11] English took theory in the 1590s from the Late Latin word.^[12]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero writes the Greek word in a letter to Atticus.^[4][2]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it in his letters for philosophical speculation.^[6][2]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it in De beata vita.^[6][2]
• c. 360–c. 435 AD – Cassian uses it in the Collationes.^[5][2]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it in his commentary on Ezekiel.^[4][3][2]
• 1590s – English borrows it as theory.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. Philosophical speculation, theory, inquiry.^{[4][3][5][13]}
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin, Medieval Latin) contemplation, meditation, especially of God.^[9][10][11]
3. (Medieval Latin) A vision.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin) The contemplative life.^[9][2]

Word family

• theōrēticus

Related words

• English theory

Usage notes

Gaffiot also records a form theōricē, from Greek θεωρική (theōrikḗ).^[5]

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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
8. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b 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
11. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson