Etymologically
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veterinarius

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wɛ.tɛ.riːˈnaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ve.te.riˈnaː.ri.us][1]

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]

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