titulus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈtɪ.tʊ.ɫʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtiː.tu.lus]^[1]

Forms

titulus m (genitive titulī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2] It is possibly borrowed from Etruscan.^[1] Lewis and Short connected it with the root of Ancient Greek τιμάω (timáō, “to honour”), an old guess.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD cites it from an early inscription marking a boundary,^[2] and Köbler dates it from Cicero (81–43 BC).^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was a tablet or label of wood or stone with a notice on it, such as a notice that something was for sale or to let, or the label hung round a slave's neck at a sale.^[2][3][5] It meant an inscription, as Livy's bronze plate recording a vow, and the title of a book or chapter, as in Ovid.^[2]

From this it meant a name or title of honour, as Cicero's “the title of wise man”, a fair-sounding name that masked the truth, as in Livy, and a claim to glory.^[2] In law it was the head under which an action fell, and in Medieval Latin a legal ground or right, a reason or pretext.^[2][4] English title came from it through Old French about 1300, first of the inscription on Christ's cross, and tittle and tilde are later forms of the same word.^[6]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a title of honour.^[2][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of inscriptions and pretexts.^[2][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a book's title.^[2][4]
• c. 1300 – English title is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tablet, placard, label.^[2][1]
2. An inscription; an epitaph.^[2][1]
3. The title or heading (of a book or chapter).^[2][1]
4. A name, title, description.^[2]
5. A specious name, pretext.^[2][4]
6. (law) A head, ground (of an action).^[2][4]
7. A claim to fame, distinction.^[2]

Related words

• English title
• English tittle
• English tilde

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com