uterinus

Forms

uterīnus (feminine uterīna, neuter uterīnum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin uterus (“womb”) + -īnus.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges records it in Dictys Cretensis and in Julius Capitolinus' life of Antoninus Pius,^[4] and the Vulgate has it in Genesis,^[5][3] in the sense “born of the same mother”.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Its main use was in law and in the Bible, for brothers and sisters born of the same mother (frātrēs uterīnī),^[5][4][6] as in the Theodosian and Justinian codes.^[5] Isidore of Seville discusses the term.^[4]

In medieval Latin it was also used as a noun for such a half-brother,^[3][2] and in its literal sense “of the womb”.^[2] English took the word, through Old French, first in the sense “born of the same mother” and later as “of the womb”.^[7]

Timeline

• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of brothers born of the same mother.^[5][3]
• 438 AD – The Theodosian Code speaks of a brother and sister uterini.^[5][4][3]
• 528–534 AD – The Code of Justinian uses it of brothers and sisters.^[5][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville discusses the term.^[4][3]
• early 15th century – English borrows it, through Old French, as uterine, “born of the same mother”.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Born of the same mother, uterine: frātrēs uterīnī, half-brothers with one mother.^[5][4][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) Of the womb.^[2]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A half-brother by the same mother; a brother.^[3][2]

Related words

• English uterine

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com