Etymograph

English

Franciscan

Franciscan comes from Late Latin Franciscānus ‘(noun) friar of the order of Saint Francis’.

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEFranciscānus‘(noun) friar of the order of Saint Francis’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1536Franciscan

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEFranciscānus‘(noun) friar of the order of Saint Francis’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1536Franciscan

Earliest quotation: 1536, Hugh Latimer: “[O]ur old antient Purgatory pick-purſe, that vvas ſvvaged and…”

The story

Learned borrowing from Late Latin Franciscānus (‘(noun) friar of the order of Saint Francis; (adjective) of or from the order of Saint Francis’) + English -an (suffix forming agent nouns; and meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Franciscānus is derived from Franciscus (‘the given name Francis, the name of Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 – 1226)’) + Latin -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, denoting relationships of origin, position, or possession); and Franciscus from Francia (‘region inhabited or ruled over by the Franka, Frankia’) (apparently a nickname from Francis’s father, an Italian merchant who worked in France) + -iscus (suffix forming adjectives).

Every English word from Late Latin Franciscānus

Today it means

noun A friar of the religious order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1209, now known as the Order of the Friars Minor.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Late Latin Franciscānus / Franciscan

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