Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The article studies the word inquisitor (investigator looking for material for prosecution, tracker, scout, spy, detective, researcher, hunter, slanderer, inquisitor) in ancient Roman sources.The author summarizes information from lexicographic sources, analyzes etymology, examples of use by ancient authors, and data from epigraphic sources (inquisitor Galliarum as an official post).The author highlights the main characteristics of the concept, draws up a portrait of people who could be called inquisitor in ancient Rome, and gives a version of the dictionary entry based on professional activity as the dominant one.The author comes to the conclusion that the word inquisitor was used to denote professional activity in the era of the Late Republic and Early Empire.Understanding the original meanings of the use of inquisitor is relevant for interpreting the use of the word by ancient Roman authors and revealing its meaning in subsequent eras.
Author: Maria S. Golikova
Institution: Moscow State Linguistic University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4394831442