lethargia Latin · revision 4099

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=Caelius Aurelianus|origins=grc ληθαργία}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [leˈtar.d͡ʒi.a], [leˈtar.d͡ʒi.a]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lēthārgia''' ''f'' (genitive lēthārgiae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|ληθαργία|tr=lēthargía|t=drowsiness, forgetfulness]], from [[m|grc|λήθαργος|tr=lḗthargos|t=forgetful]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010) Etymonline traces it further to [[m|grc|λήθη|tr=lḗthē|t=forgetting]].^(Etymonline) Pliny Valerianus says it is named from forgetfulness of mind and wandering of the body.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Caelius Aurelianus uses it in his work on acute diseases.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Köbler dates him to the 5th century AD and names Pliny the Elder as a source, but Georges notes that the text of Pliny now reads ''lethargo''.^(Köbler 2010)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was a medical term for lethargy or drowsiness, the same as [[lethargus]].^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Caelius Aurelianus defines it as a delirium with acute and dangerous fevers.^(TLL)

+

+ Alcuin uses it of a sluggard pinned to his bed by lethargy rather than sleep, and a glossary lists it with apoplexy and spasm.^(DMLBS) Medieval Latin also spelled it ''litargia'', the source of English ''lethargy'', recorded in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 2nd half of the 8th century – Alcuin uses it of a sluggard.^(DMLBS)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 14th century – English ''lethargy'' is recorded as ''litarge''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(medicine)'' [[m|en|lethargy]], drowsiness.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lethargus]]

+ * [[en|lethargy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}