wadium

Forms

wadium n (genitive wadiī); second declension^[1] Also spelled vadium, gadium, gaidium, guadium, waddium, watgium and wadia, besides many other variants.^[2][1][3]

Etymology

It is a Germanic word.^[2][3][1] It is probably borrowed from Frankish *waddī (“wager, stake, pledge”), as Wiktionary has it;^[1] Niermeyer instead names the source as Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌳𐌹 (wadi, “pledge”).^[2] Köbler traces it to Proto-Germanic *wadja- (“pledge, earnest money”) and, further, to Pokorny's Proto-Indo-European *u̯ādʰ- (“pledge; to give a pledge”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest dated source is the Lombard law code, the Edictum Rothari of 643;^[3] Wiktionary notes it in the 8th-century Reichenau Glossary.^[1] In the early medieval laws it was an object handed over by a debtor as a symbolic pledge of an obligation.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In early medieval law the wadium was an object that bound a debtor, or his property, to the creditor: handing it over gave the creditor the right to enforce the obligation, and it was returned when the debt was paid.^[2] It was given when promising to pay a fine or compensation, to prove one's case in court, to give up a claim, to transfer property or to accept trial by battle, and when contracting a marriage.^[2] It also meant self-enslavement as security for a debt, a solemn promise of a people to a royal official, and a pledge of value, movable or immovable, held by the creditor; with mortuum it was a mortgage whose revenue did not reduce the loan.^[2] Later senses were a betrothal contract, a will ordering a gift after death, and wages, pay.^[2][1]

The same Germanic word lies behind English wed, wage and gage, German Wette, Dutch wedde and French gage.^[2]

Timeline

• 643 – The Edictum Rothari, Köbler's earliest dated source.^[3]
• 8th century – The Reichenau Glossary has the word.^[1]
• c. 1300 – English gage “pledge” and wage “payment, reward” are first recorded, from Old French.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, law) A pledge: an object handed to a creditor as a symbol binding the debtor to an obligation.^[2][3][1]
2. Self-enslavement as security for a debt.^[2][3]
3. A solemn promise of a people to a king's official.^[2]
4. A pledge of goods or land held by the creditor;^[2][1] mortuum wadium, a mortgage.^[2][1]
5. A debt secured on a pledge.^[2]
6. A contract of betrothal or marriage.^[2][1]
7. A written order for a gift after death; a will.^[2][1]
8. Wages, pay.^[2][1]

Word family

• wadiātor
• wadiō

Related words

• English wage
• English gage
• English wed

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com