investigatio Latin · revision 4474
15 Oct 2026, 23:22 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Cicero|origins=la vestīgium}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ɪn.wɛs.tiːˈɡaː.ti.oː]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [iɱ.ves.tiˈɡat.t͡si.o]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''investīgātiō''' ''f'' (genitive investīgātiōnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[af|la|investīgō|-tiō|t1=to track, search out]],^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) from [[m|la|in-]] and [[vestigo|alt=vestīgō]] “to track”, from [[vestigium|alt=vestīgium]] “footprint”.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Cicero, in the Academica, says someone devoted himself wholly to the investigation of nature.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It was a searching or inquiry into something, as Cicero speaks of the investigation of the most hidden things and of the search for truth beside [[inquisitio|alt=inquīsītiō]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012) It also meant a search for persons: Hyginus tells of someone asking to search for a lost father and sister, and Apuleius of a reward for tracking someone down.^(OLD 2012) The Vulgate, in Isaiah, says God's wisdom is beyond searching.^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+
+ In medieval British records it was the tracking down of stolen cattle and the seeking out of persons.^(DMLBS) [[en|investigation]] is recorded in the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the investigation of nature.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Isaiah.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * early 15th century – English ''investigation'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A search.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)
+ # An inquiry, [[m|en|investigation]]; research.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The tracking down of stolen cattle or of persons.^(DMLBS)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[investīgābilis]]
+ * [[investīgātor]]
+ * [[investīgātrix]]
+ * [[investīgō]]
+ * [[vestigium|alt=vestīgium]]
+ * [[en|investigation]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}