providentia

Latin

Etymology

From prōvidēns (“taking care, giving attention to; foreseeing”) +‎ -ia. Compare prūdentia. Possibly coined by Cicero as a calque of Ancient Greek πρόνοια (prónoia).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /proː.u̯iˈden.ti.a/, [proːu̯ɪˈd̪ɛn̪t̪iä]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /pro.viˈden.t͡si.a/, [proviˈd̪ɛnt̪͡s̪iä]

Noun

prōvidentia f (genitive prōvidentiae); first declension

The ability to see something in advance; foresight, foreknowledge.
Precaution, providence, forethought.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prōvidentia	prōvidentiae
Genitive	prōvidentiae	prōvidentiārum
Dative	prōvidentiae	prōvidentiīs
Accusative	prōvidentiam	prōvidentiās
Ablative	prōvidentiā	prōvidentiīs
Vocative	prōvidentia	prōvidentiae

Synonyms

(foreknowledge): praescientia
(providence): pronoea

Related terms

prōvidē
prōvidēns
prōvidenter
prōvideō
prōvidus
prōvīsiō
prōvīsō
prōvīsor
prōvīsus

Descendants

Middle French: pourvéance
- French: pourvoyance, pourvéance (dialectal, Burgundy)
→ English: providence
→ French: providence
→ Italian: provvidenza
→ Portuguese: providência
→ Romanian: providență
→ Spanish: providencia
→ Old Irish: remcaisiu (calque)

References

“providentia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“providentia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
providentia 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)
providentia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette