altercatio Latin · revision 36501

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=la alter}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [aɫ.tɛrˈkaː.ti.oː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [al.terˈkat.t͡si.o]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''altercātiō''' ''f'' (genitive altercātiōnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|altercor|-tiō|t1=to dispute, wrangle]], an action noun.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) That verb is formed from [[m|la|alter|t=the other (of two)]].^(Köbler 2010)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus has it in the ''Aulularia'' for a quarrel;^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010) Lewis & Short mark the passage as the only one in Plautus.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Cicero writes of a day spent in a dispute between the consul Lentulus and the tribune Caninius, and uses it of a philosophical argument;^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012) Lewis & Short note that he has it in his letters and philosophical works, while in the speeches ''disceptātiō'' and ''contentiō'' usually take its place.^(Lewis & Short 1879) In rhetoric it was the rapid exchange of questions and retorts between opponents in court, as opposed to a continuous speech.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Livy and Tacitus use it too,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and in the mythographer Hyginus Altercatio is a deity, a child of Aether and Earth.^(OLD 2012) Christian writers used it of a written debate in the form of a dialogue.^(TLL) In medieval Latin it was also a lawsuit or a legal claim.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW) English [[m|en|altercation]] comes from it, partly through Old French.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a quarrel.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of debates in the senate, in court and in philosophy.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of heated disputes.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 680 – Aldhelm uses it of a dispute with heretics.^(DMLBS)^(MLW)

+ * late 14th century – English [[m|en|altercation]] is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|dispute]], especially an angry one; a [[m|en|wrangle]], an altercation.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(rhetoric)'' A quick exchange of questions and retorts with an opponent in court; [[m|en|repartee]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' A debate, a [[m|en|disputation]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(personified)'' Strife as a deity.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|lawsuit]]; a legal claim.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[altercātor]]

+ * [[altercor]]

+ * [[alter]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein groups it with [[contentiō]] and [[iūrgium]] as disputes carried on with passion but kept to words, unlike [[disceptātiō]] and [[contrōversia]], which are settled calmly, and unlike [[rixa]], which comes to blows.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}