vertebratus

Forms

vertebrātus (feminine vertebrāta, neuter vertebrātum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin vertebra + -ātus, “provided with joints”.^[2][1] The noun vertebra (“joint”) comes from vertō (“to turn”).^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD) has it first, of jointed bones.^[2][4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Pliny is the only Classical author the dictionaries cite: besides jointed bones he uses it of something movable or flexible.^[5][7][8] New Latin zoology took it up in the sense “having a backbone”,^[1] from which English vertebrate was formed in 1826.^[3]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of jointed bones.^[2][6]
• 1826 – English vertebrate is recorded, from this word.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having joints, articulated, jointed.^[2][4]
2. Movable, flexible.^[7][5]
3. (New Latin, zoology) Vertebrate.^[1]

Related words

• vertebra
• vertō
• English vertebrate

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier