Etymologically
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tinnitus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tɪnˈniː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [tinˈniː.tus][1]

Forms

tinnītus m (genitive tinnītūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tinniō (“to ring, jingle”) + -tus, an abstract noun of the fourth declension.[2][1] The verb tinniō is onomatopoeic.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest quotation in Conte is from Catullus, tenuēs tinnītūs aere ciēbant, “they raised shrill ringing from the bronze”;[3] Köbler records it from Ovid.[4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it poetic and post-Augustan.[5] It is the ringing or clanging of metal: Virgil has tinnītūsque ciē et Mātris quate cymbala circum, “raise a ringing and shake the Mother’s cymbals around”, and a helmet that strepit adsiduō tinnītū, “clangs with constant ringing”,[5][3] Ovid the ringing of a sword,[5] and Seneca the ringing of bronze.[5] Pliny the Elder used it of a ringing in the ears, for which he lists remedies,[2][5] and Apuleius has the same sense.[2][3] In the Dialogus of Tacitus it is the jingle of Gallio's style.[5][3] Medieval writers in Britain used it of bells, strings and swords, and Bede and John of Salisbury have tinnītus aurium, “ringing of the ears”.[6] English medical writing has used the Latin word since the early 15th century for ringing in the ears.[7]

Timeline

  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus has tenuēs tinnītūs.[3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of cymbals and of a helmet.[5][3]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a sword.[5][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of ringing in the ears.[2][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of a jingling style.[5][3]
  • Medieval Latin – Bede has tinnītus aurium.[6]
  • early 15th century – Used in English medical writing as tinnitus.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A ringing, clanging, jingling or similar sound.[2][5][8]
  2. A ringing sensation in the ears.[2][5][6]
  3. (of style) A jingle of words.[5][3]
  • tinniō
  • tinnulus
  • tintinnābulum
  • English tinnitus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson