defectio

Latin

Etymology

From dēficiō +‎ -tiō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /deːˈfek.ti.oː/, [d̪eːˈfɛkt̪ioː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /deˈfek.t͡si.o/, [d̪eˈfɛkt̪͡s̪io]

Noun

dēfectiō f (genitive dēfectiōnis); third declension

1. defection, desertion

   Synonym: dēsertiō

2. rebellion, revolt (of a city)
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:

     Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam ciuitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita recepta inclinatura rursus animos uidebatur ad ueteris imperii respectum.

     This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerful, in the same way that it had attracted the support of a number of communities by its revolt, was thought would again turn attention back towards respect for the previous government once recaptured.

3. failing, failure, deficiency, want, disappearance, decline

   Synonyms: cāritās, dēsīderium, egestās, dēficientia, necessitās, pēnūria, inopia, angustia, indigentia, ūsus

4. eclipse
5. ellipsis
6. a fainting spell, failure of energy or stamina

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	dēfectiō	dēfectiōnēs
genitive	dēfectiōnis	dēfectiōnum
dative	dēfectiōnī	dēfectiōnibus
accusative	dēfectiōnem	dēfectiōnēs
ablative	dēfectiōne	dēfectiōnibus
vocative	dēfectiō	dēfectiōnēs

Descendants

• Catalan: defecció
• → English: defection
• French: défection
• Italian: defezione
• → Portuguese: defeção
• Romanian: defecțiune
• Spanish: defección

References

• “defectio”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “defectio”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• defectio in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• defectio in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • an eclipse of the sun: solis defectio