tutorius

Forms

tūtōrius (feminine tūtōria, neuter tūtōrium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tūtor¹ + -ius, from the noun for a guardian.^[2][1][3] Köbler traces the family to tueor (“to watch over”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first from Juvenal.^[4] The dictionaries quote it in the legal phrase tutorio nomine, “in the capacity of a guardian”, from the jurist Gaius and Justin, who speaks of governing a kingdom in a guardian's name.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The adjective belongs to the law of guardianship: it meant “of a tutor or legal guardian”.^[2][6] Georges records inscriptions with a masculine noun tutorius “protector”, as an epithet of Jupiter, and a feminine tutoria “protectress”;^[3] the OLD instead takes tutoria doubtfully as a woman appointed by, or connected with, a guardian.^[2]

In Medieval Latin it kept the sense “of a guardian or protector”: the DMLBS quotes it from the Gascon rolls of 1285 and a text of 1517.^[7] Italian tutorio comes from the post-Classical word.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 67–c. 127 AD – Köbler's first record, in Juvenal.^[4]
• 140–180 AD – The jurist Gaius uses tutorio nomine.^[5][4]
• 1285 – The Gascon rolls use nomine tutorio of someone acting for children.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or belonging to a guardian or legal tutor;^[2][6][5] tutorio nomine, in the capacity of a guardian.^[2][6][5]
2. (as a noun, feminine, in inscriptions) Uncertain: a woman appointed by or connected with a guardian (OLD), or a protectress (Georges).^[2][3]
3. (as a noun, masculine, in inscriptions) A protector, as an epithet of Jupiter.^[3]

Related words

• tueor
• tūtor¹
• tūtēla

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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