vibratio

Forms

vibrātiō f (genitive vibrātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin vibrō + -tiō, from vibrō (“to brandish, shake”).^[1][2] De Vaan derives the verb from an adjective Proto-Italic *wibro- (“swinging, agitated”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The grammarian Diomedes uses it of brandishing,^[2][4][5] and Festus' dictionary, in Paul the Deacon's abridgement, uses it of the brandishing of a spear when explaining the title Gradivus.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the active sense of brandishing, it named a quick, trembling movement: a passage quoted in the Historia Augusta speaks of the continued vibratio of thunder,^[6][2] and Conte takes it there of the flicker of lightning.^[7] A grammatical text ascribed to Marius Victorinus uses it of the shaking of feathers.^[4][7]

In Late Latin it could also mean the sparkle of a precious stone,^[7] and medieval Latin kept both brandishing and glitter or splendour.^[8][9] English took the word in the 1650s, first of the movement of a musical string.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 370–380 AD – Diomedes uses it of brandishing.^[2][5]
• 1650s – English borrows it as vibration.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A brandishing, as of a spear.^[6][2][4]
2. A quick, trembling movement; the flicker of thunder and lightning.^[2][7]
3. A shaking, as of feathers.^[4][7]
4. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) Glitter, sparkle, splendour.^[7][8][9]

Related words

• English vibration

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com