Word Power: Inauguration

Today’s lesson in Word Power is to understand the etymology and history behind the word inauguration.

Inauguration (Noun): [in-au-gu-ra-tion]

1. Formal induction into office.
2. A formal beginning or introduction.  (American Heritage Dictionary)

Etymology

The history of the word inauguration can be traced all the way back to the early Roman Republic (510 BC – 27 BC).  The Roman Republic was ruled by two distinct classes, the patricians and the plebeians.  All major decisions, such as war, religion, appointments of officials, and commerce were decided upon by augurs.  It is from the word augur that the Romans developed the word inauguratio, which is where we get the word inauguration.

In-

The prefix in- was commonly used in Latin much like it is used today.  This prefix can have multiple meanings when affixed to certain words.  Usually, the prefix means “in” or “into”.  We see this use of the prefix in words such as  incorporate or  inscribe.  Often you see this prefix altered to match the word it is preceding, in such cases as implement or illustrate. The other meaning that in- has is “not”. It simply negates the meaning of the word it is in front of.  A couple examples of the second meaning of in- are illegal and inaccuracy.  Nevertheless, the prefix meaning “in” is of importance in order to understand the etymology of inauguration.

Augur

The word augur means exactly the same thing today that it did 2,500 years ago.  An augur is considered to be a divine soothsayer that interprets the will of the gods by observing the flight patterns of birds.  Today, according to The American Heritage Dictionary, an augur is a seer, soothsayer, prophet, etc.  As I mentioned above, augurs in the Roman Republic were the decision makers for all affairs, private and public.  Until roughly 300 BC augurs were elected from the patrician class (the noble aristocracy); after then, a member of the plebeian class (the lower middle class) was able to become an augur.  The Roman Republic was very different than that of Caesars’ or Augustus’ Rome, in that there was no emperor.  It was ruled by the people for the people.  The highest office at the time was Pontifex Maximus, which was the religious and political figurehead of the state.  Side note: Julius Caesar was appointed Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC.  One could argue that the second highest ranked position in the Republic was an augur for no decision was ever made without their consultation and blessing.

Synopsis

The Latin noun inauguratio, -ionis was derived from the Latin verb inaugurare, which meant to take omens from bird flight, consecrate, etc.  As I have mentioned in an earlier Word Power lesson, nouns are usually derived from the fourth principal part of the verb; in this case the fourth principal part is inauguratus.  Nevertheless, in less than a week Barack Obama will be inaugurated into the White House as the 44th U.S. President.  He is not expected to look to the sky to foretell the future by observing bird patterns, nor is he expected to draw divine conclusions from such happenings.  He is simply being inducted into an office of power.  In the Roman Republic such an appointment would only be made after a consultation with the birds. Today we make appointments based off of the populous and grossly defunct voter ballots.

Extra Credit

As legend would have it, Rome was established upon the practice of augury.  Rome was established as a monarchy in 753 BC by Romulus after he had been granted divine favor over his brother, Remus.  Legend has it that the brothers quarreled over the location should of their new city.  Romulus stood upon the Palatine Hill and Remus stood upon the Aventine Hill awaiting a signal from the gods as to which location was favorable.  According to this legend, Romulus saw twelve vultures, while Remus only saw six.  The rest is history…

Tune in next Thursday for the breakdown of the word Onomatopoeia.

Image Used in this Post

Bald Eagle image courtesy of Flickr user Alaskan Dude published under the CC license.