Etymologically
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validitas

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 19:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [waˈlɪ.dɪ.taːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [vaˈliː.di.tas][1]

Forms

validitās f (genitive validitātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin validus (“strong”) + -itās.[2][1][3] The adjective is formed from valeō (“to be strong”) with -idus,[4] and the verb goes back to Proto-Italic *wal-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *h2ulh1-eh1- (“to be strong”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short cite it for bodily strength in a treatise transmitted under Apuleius' name, as well as in Ambrose, who speaks of virilis validitas, manly strength.[2] Ambrose is Köbler's first source.[3]

Semantic evolution

A late and rare word, it first meant strength of body.[2] Ecclesiastical Latin also used it for validity,[6] and British medieval sources have it as a legal term, the validity of a deed or presentation;[7] Osbern of Gloucester lists it among the derivatives of validus.[7]

English validity (1540s) comes from French validité or directly from the Late Latin word.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of manly strength.[2][3]
  • 1540s – English borrows it, perhaps through French, as validity.[8]
  • 1546 – A Scottish formulary uses it of the validity of a presentation.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Strength, vigour of body.[2][1]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin, Medieval Latin, law) Validity.[6][7][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d 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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com