Etymologically
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tripertito

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Forms

tripertītō (not comparable)[1] Also tripartītō;[2][3] Georges calls tripertītō the usual spelling now, and Gaffiot the better one.[3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin tripertītus (“divided into three”) + -ō.[2][3] The adjective, recorded from Varro on, is one of the derivatives that de Vaan lists under pars (“part”),[5] and is made from tri- (“three”) and the verb partiō (“to divide”).[6] De Vaan reports Schrijver's explanation of the noun as Proto-Italic *parti- (“part”), formed before Latin from the present stem of pariō (“to bring forth”), first meaning “lot, portion”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero,[7] who speaks of dividing goods into three classes (bona dividere tripertito).[4][8]

Semantic evolution

It means in or into three parts.[2][3] In military use it means in three columns or at three points: Caesar advances tripertito and divides his cavalry into three bodies, and Livy has a city attacked at three points.[4][3][8] Tacitus says that Herod's sons ruled the people divided into three parts.[3][8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero divides goods tripertito.[4][8][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of three columns and of cavalry in three bodies.[4][8][7]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of attacking a city at three points.[4][3][7]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of a people divided among Herod's sons.[3][8][7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In or into three parts.[2][3][8]
  2. (military) In three columns, at three points.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ 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