stigma Latin · revision 36792

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=4 BC–65 AD, Seneca|origins=grc στίγμα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈstɪɡ.ma]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈstiɡ.ma]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stigma''' ''n'' (genitive stigmatis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Petronius also has a first-declension feminine ''stigma, -ae'' (accusative ''stigmam'').^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|στίγμα|tr=stígma|t=prick, puncture, mark]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Saalfeld 1874)^(Wiktionary) Köbler traces it further to the root [[ine-pro|*steig-|t=to prick, stick]].^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler's earliest source is Seneca,^(Köbler 2010) who speaks of branding a soldier (''mīlitī stigmata īnscrībere'');^(Conte 2010) Conte also cites a passage of Vitruvius.^(Conte 2010) The sense is a mark burned or pricked into the skin of runaway slaves and criminals.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the literal sense it appears in Petronius, Quintilian, who speaks of writing the brand on a runaway slave (''stigmata fugitīvō scrībere''), Suetonius and Pliny the Elder,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and Juvenal calls someone deserving of the brand (''stigmate dignus'').^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010) Martial and Suetonius use it figuratively for a lasting mark of disgrace: Suetonius says that Catullus' verses had branded Mamurra for ever.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Martial also uses it jokingly for a cut left by a clumsy barber.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ In Christian Latin the Vulgate uses the plural in Galatians for marks of ownership borne in the body,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010) later understood as the stigmata of Christ's wounds;^(Stelten 1995)^(Conte 2010) the Vulgate also uses it of tattooing in Leviticus.^(Conte 2010) Medieval writers used it for a magic symbol, a mark of dignity and a nun's veil.^(Niermeyer 1976) It was borrowed into English in the 1590s for a mark burned into the skin, after an earlier form ''stigme'' of about 1400.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of branding.^(Köbler 2010)^(Conte 2010)

+ * before 66 AD – Petronius uses the literal sense and a first-declension form.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of a mark of disgrace and of a barber's cut.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it figuratively of Catullus' verses on Mamurra.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses the plural in Galatians.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1590s – Borrowed into English as [[m|en|stigma]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|brand]] or mark burned or pricked into the skin of runaway [[m|en|slave|alt=slaves]], criminals and others.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A mark of [[m|en|disgrace]], infamy.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # A cut on the face made by a clumsy [[m|en|barber]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin, plural)'' The marks of Christ's wounds, the [[m|en|stigmata]].^(Stelten 1995)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' A [[m|en|tattoo]].^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A magic symbol; a mark of dignity; a nun's [[m|en|veil]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stigmo]]

+ * [[stigmōsus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In medieval texts ''stigma'' is also a spelling of [[stemma]].^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}