Etymologically
Log in

viaticus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 15:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wiˈaː.tɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [viˈaː.ti.kus][1]

Forms

viāticus (feminine viātica, neuter viāticum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin via (“road, way”) + -āticus.[2][3][1] It is the adjective from which viāticum (“provision for a journey”) is formed.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds it first in Plautus,[3] whose cēna viātica is a meal connected with a journey:[5][6][7] Lewis and Short take it as a farewell meal, Gaffiot and Conte as a dinner welcoming someone back from a long journey.[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it is very rare in Classical Latin.[5] In Medieval Latin it describes what belongs to the road or a journey: a road bridge, portable altars, a letter for travel;[8] Niermeyer also gives it the sense “of the viaticum”, the Eucharist given to the dying.[9]

As a masculine noun it meant in Medieval Latin a road toll,[9][10] a road official,[11] and in glosses a guide.[10] Wiktionary also gives the sense “a ride, journey”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a cēna viātica.[5][12][10]
  • 860 – A diploma uses the noun for a road toll.[10]
  • 1195 – A charter names a viāticus, a road official.[11]
  • 1401 – An English record calls portable altars altāria viātica.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or for a journey: cēna viātica a meal for a departure or a return.[2][5][6][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) of the road; for travelling, portable.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) of the viaticum.[9]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) a road toll.[9][10]
  2. (Medieval Latin) a road official.[11]
  3. (Medieval Latin) a guide.[10]
  4. A ride, a journey.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c 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
  9. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  11. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  12. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn