veterinarius

Forms

veterīnārius (feminine veterīnāria, neuter veterīnārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin veterīnus + -ārius,^[2][3] from veterīnum (“draught cattle”), which goes back to vetus (“old”).^[1][4] De Vaan reports Adams' suggestion that draught animals, mostly equines, were seen as “the old stock” because they lived longest of all cattle and were not as a rule eaten.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Columella, writing on agriculture, uses medicina veterinaria for the medical care of animals and veterinarius alone for an animal doctor.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it meant concerned with beasts of burden and their medical treatment, and as a noun a veterinarian.^[2][3][6] Vegetius speaks of the ars veterinaria, the veterinary art, in the preface of his book on the diseases of mules.^[6] The feminine veterinaria was used alone for veterinary medicine, and the neuter veterinarium for an infirmary for draught animals in the treatise on camps ascribed to Hyginus.^[6][7][8] The noun also appears in the Digest.^[8]

Italian veterinario comes from it,^[8] and English veterinary is recorded by 1766.^[9]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Columella uses it as an adjective and as a noun for an animal doctor.^[2][3][5]
• c. 400 – Vegetius writes of the ars veterinaria.^[6][5]
• 1766 – English veterinary is first recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of beasts of burden and draught animals; concerned with their medical treatment, veterinary.^[2][3][6]

Noun

1. An animal doctor, veterinarian, farrier.^[2][3][6]
2. (feminine) veterinaria: veterinary medicine.^[6][8]
3. (neuter) veterinarium: an infirmary for draught animals.^[7][8]

Related words

• English veterinary
• English veterinarian

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com