confessio Latin · revision 31325

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=81–43 BC, Cicero|origins=ine-pro *bʰh₂-to-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [kõːˈfɛs.si.oː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [koɱˈfɛs.si.o]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cōnfessiō''' ''f'' (genitive cōnfessiōnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|la|cōnfiteor|-tiō|t1=to confess]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010) De Vaan derives [[m|la|fateor|t=to admit]] from [[itc-pro|*fat-ē-]] and [[ine-pro|*bʰh₂-to-|t=spoken]], cognate with [[osc|fatíum|t=to speak]]; he reports Ernout and Meillet's view that ⟨cōnfiteor⟩ and ⟨prōfiteor⟩ are older than the simple verb.^(de Vaan 2008) Albertus Magnus derived it from ⟨con⟩ and ⟨for, fārī⟩ “to speak”.^(MLW)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLL finds it from Cicero on, as in his speeches against Verres, of Apronius' not only admitting but openly recounting his dealings with Verres.^(TLL)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is an acknowledgement of something to one's disadvantage, an admission, and an opinion everyone admits, as Velleius' Catulus, by universal admission the leader of the senate.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is an admission of guilt, as Cicero's man who seeks a remedy for his own confession, and a tacit admission or token, as Livy's acknowledgement that Rome was the head of affairs.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In Christian Latin it is a confession or profession of faith, the witness of the martyrs, and the confession of sins and the sacrament of penance.^(Wiktionary)^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Stelten 1995) In the Middle Ages it is also the martyr's tomb under the altar, as ''cōnfessiō sānctī Petrī'', Saint Peter's tomb in Rome, and the right to hear confessions and receive the offerings made then.^(Niermeyer 1976) British sources use it of an admission of guilt or debt.^(DMLBS) English ''confession'', in the late 14th century, came from it through Old French, first of confessing sins to a priest.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of an admission.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a tacit admission.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 14th century – Borrowed into English as [[m|en|confession]], through Old French.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An acknowledgement, admission, [[m|en|confession]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # An admission of [[m|en|guilt]].^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A tacit admission; a token, proof.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' A profession of faith; the witness of a martyr.^(Wiktionary)^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' Confession of sins; the sacrament of [[m|en|penance]].^(Wiktionary)^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Stelten 1995)^(DMLBS)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A martyr's tomb under an altar.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cōnfessor]]

+ * [[cōnfiteor]]

+ * [[fateor]]

+ * [[prōfessiō]]

+ * [[en|confession]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}