Etymologically
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veridicus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [weːˈrɪ.dɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [veˈriː.di.kus][1]

Forms

vēridicus (feminine vēridica, neuter vēridicum); first/second-declension adjective[1] The spelling ⟨veredicus⟩ also occurs.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin vērus (“true”) + -dicus (“saying”),[3][1] with the second part from dīcō2 (“to say”).[4][5] De Vaan derives ⟨vērus⟩ from Proto-Italic *wēro- and Proto-Indo-European *ueh₁-ro- (“true”).[6] Cognate with Old Irish fír (“true”) and Old High German wār (“true”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Lucretius,[4] who speaks of a truth-telling mouth.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

It was used above all of prophets and prophecies that tell the truth:[3] Cicero writes of truth-telling voices, Livy of a truthful interpreter of the gods, and Martial of truth-telling sisters.[7][5] Less often it meant truly said or truly foretold: Pliny the Elder writes of a prophecy fulfilled in the event and of what experience has shown to be true.[3][2] Lewis and Short call it rare but classical.[7] Augustine and Ammianus have the adverb vērīdicē.[7]

In Medieval Latin a charter could be called veridicus, genuine as opposed to forged; it also meant establishing the facts, the neuter plural vēridica meant the facts, and the masculine noun a sworn municipal officer who could testify in a lawsuit.[8] British writers used it of a truthful prophet or a truthful people.[9] English veridical comes from it.[10]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of a truth-telling mouth.[7][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of truthful voices.[7][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of an interpreter of the gods.[7][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a prophecy fulfilled.[3][4]
  • 1650s – Borrowed into English as veridical.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (of prophets and prophecies) Telling the truth, truthful, veracious.[3][7]
  2. Truly said or truly foretold; true.[3][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) (of a charter) Genuine.[8]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A sworn municipal officer qualified to testify in a lawsuit.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com