dominical

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dem-“to arrange, put together; to build (up)”
2. Latin · derived fromdominicus“of or belonging to a lord or master; (Ecclesiastical Latin) God’s, the Lord’s”
3. Medieval Latin · derived fromdominicālis“of or pertaining to Sunday, dominical”
4. Middle English · inherited fromdominical“(adjective) of or pertaining to the Lord’s day or Sunday; (noun) a book containing the liturgy for Sunday (?)”
5. English todaydominical

Inherited from Middle English dominical (“(adjective) of or pertaining to the Lord’s day or Sunday; (noun) a book containing the liturgy for Sunday (?)”), borrowed from Medieval Latin dominicālis (“of or pertaining to Sunday, dominical”), from Latin dominicus (“of or belonging to a lord or master; (Ecclesiastical Latin) God’s, the Lord’s”) (compare diēs Dominicus (“the day of the Lord, Sunday”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). Dominicus is derived from dominus (“lord, master”) (used in Latin versions of the Bible to translate titles of the God of the Hebrew Tanakh and Greek New Testament; probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to arrange, put together; to build (up)”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Adjective senses 3.1 (“of printed text: in a large size”) and 3.2 (“red, ruddy”) refer to the practice of printing dominical letters in a large size, or in red. Cognates * French dominical

Words from the same roots