septuāgintā¹

Meaning

1. indeclinableseventy; 70

Origins

From Proto-Indo-European *septm̥̄ḱomt, from earlier *septḿ̥-dḱomt (“seven-ten”). According to De Vaan, the -ā- was introduced under the influence of other cardinal numbers, such as sexāgintā (“sixty”). De Vaan suggests that *septḿ̥dḱomt evolved into Proto-Italic *septmā-, a development also affirmed by Sihler. Both De Vaan and Sihler propose that early *septmā- developed into *septumā-, with Sihler postulating an intermediary phase *septomāginta. According to Sihler, this form may have emerged due to the contamination of terms such *oktowāginta, a possible pre-form of octōgintā. Regardless, this form *septumā- may have then transformed into *septuwā-, whence septuāgintā. Cognate with septem and Ancient Greek ἑβδομήκοντα (hebdomḗkonta).

In English words that came into English from septuāgintā

• septuagenarianseptuagenarius
• septuagintseptuāgintā
• septuagenaryseptuāgēnārius

Meaning

1. Late LatinindeclinableThe translators of the Septuagint
2. Late LatinindeclinableThe Septuagint itself
   Cur autem sit negatio apud Septuaginta, in Hebraico autem affirmatio, varietas unius dictinculae fuit in causa, quae diversis notulis lecta variat signicatus.Aloisius Lipomanus, Catena in Psalmos ex auctoribus ecclesiasticis plus minus Septuaginta, 1535

Origins

Ellipsis of earlier descriptional names such as septuaginta translatio (“translation by the seventy”) and septuaginta interpretes (“the 70 interpreters”), calques of Koine Greek names such as οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα ἑρμηνευταί (hoi ebdomḗkonta hermēneutaí, “the 70 interpreters”) and οἱ Ο′ (hoi O′, “the LXX”), deriving from the popular (but probably mistaken) belief that its translation of the Torah had been produced in 72 days by a team of 72 Jewish scholars from Jerusalem (6 from each tribe) summoned to Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II.