uniformitas

Forms

ūniformitās f (genitive ūniformitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ūniformis (“having one form”) + -tās.^[1][2][3][4] The DMLBS and Conte call it Late Latin.^[5][6] The base is a compound of ūnus (“one”) and fōrma (“form”).^[7][1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD) uses it in De anima, where Conte gives the sense "equal distance".^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

Later authors use it for sameness of form, uniformity, as opposed to varietas: Arnobius and Macrobius have it.^[1][3][6] Lewis & Short label it post-classical.^[1] In medieval Latin it meant unity in form, character or kind, or consistency.^[5] Thomas Aquinas uses it for uniformity, as a synonym of conformitas and the opposite of difformitas.^[9] English borrowed it in the early 15th century as uniformite, from Old French or directly from Late Latin.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in De anima.^[6][4]
• 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it for uniformity.^[3][4]
• first half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses it in the Saturnalia.^[6][4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as uniformite.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Uniformity, sameness of form, as opposed to variety.^[1][2][3]
2. Equal distance (in Tertullian).^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin) Unity in form, character or kind; consistency.^[5][9]

Related words

• ūniformis
• fōrma
• English uniformity

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com