actio Latin · revision 5089
16 Oct 2026, 01:42 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Varro|origins=ine-pro *h₂eǵ-}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈaːk.ti.oː]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈak.t͡si.o]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''āctiō''' ''f'' (genitive āctiōnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[af|la|agō|-tiō|t1=to drive, do]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The verb ''agō'' is [[inh|itc-pro|*ag-e/o-|t=to do, act]], [[inh|ine-pro|*h₂eǵ-e/o-|t=to drive, lead]].^(de Vaan 2008)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ De Vaan dates it from Varro.^(de Vaan 2008) Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant activity, doing, the conduct of life (''āctiō vītae''), and ''grātiārum āctiō'' was the giving of thanks.^(OLD 2012) From this it was an act or deed, a proposal or policy, and the delivery of an orator, which Cicero says must be varied and full of feeling.^(OLD 2012) It also meant a speech, and in law a legal process or suit and the plea in its set form.^(OLD 2012) In drama it was the action or plot.^(Wiktionary)
+
+ In medieval Latin it was a lawsuit, judicial revenue, a session of a synod and a public office.^(Niermeyer 1976) It was borrowed into [[it|azione]] and [[fr|action]], and [[en|action]] first meant “cause for a lawsuit” in the mid-14th century.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses the word.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of an orator's delivery and of lawsuits.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * Middle Ages – It is used of a session of a synod.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ * mid-14th century – English ''action'' “cause for a lawsuit” is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Activity, [[m|en|action]], doing, ''grātiārum āctiō'', giving of thanks.^(OLD 2012)
+ # An act, deed.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A proposal; a course of action, [[m|en|policy]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(rhetoric)'' Delivery.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A speech.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(law)'' A [[m|en|lawsuit]]; a plea in set form.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(drama)'' The plot.^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A session of a synod; a public office.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[actiuncula]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[agō]]
+ * [[āctor]]
+ * [[en|action]]
+ * [[en|act]]
+ * [[en|active]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}