Etymologically
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vocatio

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Forms

vocātiō f (genitive vocātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vocō + -tiō, from the verb vocō “to call, summon”.[2][1] De Vaan explains vocō as a denominative from the oblique stem of vōx “voice”, which goes back to Proto-Italic *wōkws and Proto-Indo-European *uōkw-s (“voice”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest instance is in Varro, quoted by Aulus Gellius, for the right of magistrates to summon a person: some have vocatio, some the power of arrest, some neither.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Catullus uses it for an invitation to dinner.[2][4] In Christian Latin it became the divine call, beginning with the Vulgate,[4][5] and Thomas Aquinas treats it as the carrying out of predestination.[6]

Medieval Latin widened it to a way of life or state, above all the religious state, to death as God's call, and to the dedication of a church.[7] English took it over in the early 15th century as vocation.[8]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it for a magistrate's right to summon.[2][9]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it for invitations.[2][9]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for the divine call.[4][9]
  • early 15th century – English borrows it as vocation.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An invitation.[2][4]
  2. (law) A summons to appear in court, or the right to issue one.[2][4]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A calling, the divine call.[4][5][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A way of life, a state, especially the religious state.[7]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Death, as a call from God.[7]
  6. (Medieval Latin) The dedication of a church.[7]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A calling by name; an invocation.[10]
  • English vocation

Usage notes

The OLD has a second vocātiō, a spelling of vacātiō “exemption”,[2] and de Vaan notes that vocātiō is found for vacātiō in inscriptions from 123 BC.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
  7. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  10. ^ 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