exercitus Latin · revision 8060

16 Oct 2026, 15:20 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Naevius|origins=la exerceō}}
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''exercitus''' ''m'' (genitive exercitūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)
+ Naevius and Accius have the genitive ''exercitī''; the dative is ''exercitū'' or ''exercituī''.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is from [[exerceō]] “to exercise, train” with the suffix [[-tus]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Isidore explains it as a host named from the exercise of war.^(Isidore)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Naevius, of an army.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In Plautus it meant physical exercise, exertion, and in Naevius a military force, an army or a fleet.^(OLD 2012) In Varro it was used of the centuriate assembly, the people in its military order.^(OLD 2012) Döderlein explains that ''exercitus'' is an army of several legions, while ''cōpiae'' are troops of several cohorts.^(Döderlein 1874)
+ 
+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a host, an army.^(Stelten 1995) Medieval Latin used it for the host, a military expedition of a kingdom's warriors.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in Italian ''esercito'' and Spanish ''ejército''.^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it of an army.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of exercise.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the centuriate assembly.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Exercise, exertion.^(OLD 2012)
+ # An [[m|en|army]]; a fleet.^(OLD 2012)
+ # The centuriate assembly.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A military [[m|en|expedition]].^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[exercitualis]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[exerceō]]
+ * [[exercitium]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Döderlein distinguishes it from [[cōpia|alt=cōpiae]].^(Döderlein 1874) The participle ''exercitus'' means trained, practised, and harassed.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}