versatilis

Forms

versātilis (neuter versātile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin versō + -ilis,^[2][1] from the frequentative of vertō (“to turn”).^[3][4] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of ⟨vertō⟩, whose present goes back to Proto-Italic *wert-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *uert-e/o- (“to turn”); the participle stem ⟨vers-⟩ continues an older ⟨vors-⟩ from *worsso-.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucretius on.^[4] Lucretius speaks of the “great revolving temple of the world” (mundi magnum versatile templum).^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was used chiefly of things moving on a pivot: revolving ceilings of dining rooms in Seneca, movable panels in Suetonius, mills in Pliny the Elder.^[5][2] Transferred to the mind, it described a talent that could turn with ease to any task, as in Livy's versatile ingenium.^[2][5]

Medieval British writers used it of anything capable of turning, including the turning sword of Genesis 3:24, and called a drawbridge or swing bridge a pons versatilis.^[6] English took it over around 1600 as versatile, first in the sense “inconstant, changeable”.^[3]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius speaks of the revolving “temple of the world”.^[2][7]
• 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy uses it of a mind that could turn to anything.^[2][7]
• 4 BC–AD 65 – Seneca mentions revolving ceilings of dining rooms.^[5][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of mills.^[5][7]
• c. 1600 – Borrowed into English as versatile.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Capable of turning or being turned round, revolving, movable, especially on a pivot.^[2][5]
2. (figurative) Able to turn readily to different subjects or tasks, versatile.^[2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) In pons versatilis, a drawbridge or swing bridge.^[6]

Related words

• English versatile

References

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