translatio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [trãːsˈɫaː.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [tranzˈlat.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

trānslātiō f (genitive trānslātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨trānslāt-⟩, the supine stem of trānsferō “to carry over”, with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1] It is also spelled ⟨trālātiō⟩.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, which he dates 86/82 BC; the OLD cites it for shifting a case to another court and for figurative use of a word.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

It meant moving a thing from one place to another, as Suetonius' change of residence, and in Columella and Pliny the Elder transplanting or grafting.^[2][3][5] In Cicero it meant the transfer of possessions or rights from one person to another.^[2] In rhetoric it meant shifting a case to another jurisdiction or a charge to another person, and the transferred, figurative use of a word, a metaphor; in Quintilian it meant translation from one language into another.^[2][3] Isidore defines it as a pleading that turns on whether the right person brings the case before the right court.^[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a transfer, removal, a version or translation.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for the translation of a saint's body and the feast of that translation.^[8][9] English translation came in the mid-14th century, of relics as well as of texts.^[10]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it in rhetoric.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a transfer of property.^[2][4]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of translation.^[2][4]
• mid-14th century – English translation is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Moving from one place to another; transplanting, grafting.^[2]
2. Transfer of property or rights.^[2]
3. (rhetoric) The shifting of a case or charge.^[2]
4. Figurative use of a word, metaphor.^[2]
5. Translation into another language.^[2]
6. (Medieval Latin) The translation of a saint's relics; its feast.^[8]

Related words

• trānsferō
• English translation
• English translate

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 k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com