sanctitas Latin · revision 32142

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=81–43 BC, Cicero|origins=ine-pro *seh₂k-}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sānctitās''' ''f'' (genitive sānctitātis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|sānctus|-tās|t1=sacred, holy]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) The adjective is the participle of [[m|la|sanciō|t=to make sacred, ratify]], which Wiktionary traces to [[ine-pro|*seh₂k-]] through a nasal present.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates it from Cicero,^(Köbler 2010) who in the ''Pro Sestio'' speaks of a man relying on the sacrosanctity of the tribunate.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense is the state of being protected by religious sanction, inviolability, as of the tribunate, of kings in Caesar's words reported by Suetonius, or of a temple and island in Livy.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It also means the observance of religious duties, as Cicero's “all the sanctities and religious obligations of gods and men”.^(OLD 2012) Most often it is moral purity, virtue or integrity, as the purity Cicero says the name of a matron demands, and Quintilian applies it to purity of style.^(OLD 2012)

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+ In medieval Latin ''sanctitas tua'' was a title of honour for bishops.^(Niermeyer 1976) English borrowed ''sanctity'' through Old French in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of the sacrosanctity of the tribunate and of a matron's purity.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of the sanctity of a temple.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of purity of style.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 14th century – Borrowed into English as [[m|en|sanctity]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|inviolability|alt=Inviolability]], [[m|en|sacredness]], sanctity.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Observance of religious duties.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Moral purity, [[m|en|virtue]], [[m|en|probity]]; [[m|en|holiness]], chastity; of style, purity.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' ''sanctitas tua'': a title of honour for a [[m|en|bishop]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sanctus|alt=sānctus]]

+ * [[sancio|alt=sanciō]]

+ * [[en|sanctity]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}