visibilitas

Pronunciation

• Classical: [wiː.sɪˈbɪ.lɪ.taːs]^[1]
• Ecclesiastical: [vi.s̬iˈbiː.li.tas]^[1]

Forms

vīsibilitās f (genitive vīsibilitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vīsibilis + -tās,^[1][2][3] from videō (“to see”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian uses it in On the Flesh of Christ for the quality of being visible.^[2][3][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it is also found in Fulgentius and Priscillian.^[2][3][6] Medieval theologians in Britain used it of the capacity to be seen, in contrast with the invisible nature of God.^[7]

English took it over around 1400 as visibilite, the condition of being visible; the meteorological sense “range of vision” dates from 1914.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 – Tertullian uses it in On the Flesh of Christ.^[2][4]
• c. 350–384 – Priscillian uses it.^[6][4]
• c. 1400 – English borrows it as visibilite.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) Visibility, the quality of being visible.^[2][3][6][7]

Related words

• English visibility

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ 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