English translation of "adlectio"?

[Jona Lendering]

Does anyone know the best English translation of Latin adlectio? Is it possible to say that someone was "adlected to the equestrian order"?

[Neuraleanus]

There is adlecto, meaning to entice or to invite. Most compounds of ad are verbs. adlectio would be a noun so your usage cannot be correct.

"That man elected to the equestrian order" Ille equestribus creavit
or
"That man was elected to the equestrian order"
Ille equestribus creatus est

[Jona Lendering]

He was elected to the equestrian order"

... and that's what it will be. Thanks.

[D B Campbell]

Is it possible to say that someone was "adlected to the equestrian order"?

Yes, Jona. That's the usual English translation. (Not "elected", which has different implications.)

[Jona Lendering]

Damn, two native speakers disagreeing... But a Google run for 'adlected' offers >500 hits, so I prefer that one.

[D B Campbell]

But a Google run for 'adlected' offers >500 hits, so I prefer that one.

Good choice, Jona.
Pulling a book off my shelf at random -- A.R. Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain -- reveals (e.g.) "L. Alfenus Senecio ... his role as paymaster of the German armies could have resulted in his adlection to the senate as a reward" (p. 158), or again "There is a strong possibility that Javolenus [Priscus] had been adlected to senatorial rank ..." (p. 213) ...

[Jona Lendering]

Funny, in the meantime, I found the expression in another book by Birley, his biography of Septimius Severus.

[M. Demetrius]

"E"lected would be more like "chosen from [or out of]", though the meaning in the US would be sort of like "chosen from [out of] the outsiders to public office by those outside", hence our elections.

"AD"lected would be more like "chosen to", which would imply that someone who was "outside was chosen by the insiders to be brought inside". In American English, that would cause people pause to think, "huh?" if used in a normal conversation. It's not a commonly used construction. In other words, we don't speak very good English on this side of the Atlantic, and below the Canadian border, or so I'm told by those from the parent country. :wink: :roll:

[Paullus Scipio]

Sorry, Jona - "adlectio" is simply not a word in the English language ( at least according to the Oxford English Dictionary.) It means 'enrolled' in the sense that in order to become a senator, one had to be enrolled/invited to become a senator by the Senate, or later the Emperor.
( see usage this way e.g. in your own article on the senate in Livius.org!...and of course the Equites article. )

Most english translations generally use the word 'enrolled', whose precise meaning; "to write or inscribe the name of, on a roll, list or register; to place (a name) upon a list; to enlist, incorporate in the ranks of e.g. an army or other body....." OED is very close to Latin 'adlectio'
thus '...enrolled by the Emperor into the ranks of the equites'
If one wanted to be ultra pedantic, since the word 'Adlectio' has an element of 'chosen' ( by e.g. the Senate or the Emperor),one might add this, thus:

"X was (chosen and) enrolled into the equestrian order" with or without the 'chosen' is the closest translation in English - Birley's use of 'adlected' is technically incorrect, there being no such word in Latin or English...it is hybrid invented 'lat-lish' !!
'Elected' is less accurate for the reasons David set out, and would need to be qualified to show it did not have its usual meaning, thus;
"X was elected to the Equites by the Emperor.." or ".. the Senate elected X to join its ranks.." but enrolled conveys the 'list' sense of the original far better.

[Carlton Bach]

AFAIK 'adlected' is used as the preferred rendering in specialist literature where the exact details matter and the reader is assumed to know the relevant Latin terminology anyway. The equivalent German practice would be to use the latin noun. For a general readership, English paraphrases seem to be the preferred option.

The beauty of English is that it can take in words like the animal shelter does stray kitties.

[Jona Lendering]

The beauty of English is that it can take in words like the animal shelter does stray kitties.

Yes, that is very true, it is a beautiful language. I have no gifts for languages (this is no false modesty) and writing English is still hard, even though I've made some 3200 webpages. Bill often improves my texts and explains how subtle things work. And this time it was the RAT community.

Dutch is more versatile than English - under certain circumstances, the past tense can be used to describe things that will happen in the future. German has the advantage that it has cases, and therefore it can be extremely precise. English has many, many words. And you can not be sad if you speak Italian - imagine that J.S. Bach would have written the Matthäuspassion in Italian. Everybody would leave the concert in a very happy mood, instead of "sitting down in tears".

All this being said, I follow Paul's suggestion: go here and scroll down a bit. The article is still unfinished,

[Dan Diffendale]

Birley's use of 'adlected' is technically incorrect, there being no such word in Latin or English...

Depends if you're a descriptivist or prescriptivist. It's entered specialist usage, as several have noted, so it from a descriptivist standpoint it can't be "incorrect".

[Latinitas]

I think adlectio is not a Latin word, because I cannot find it in a dictionary.

Perhaps it is originating from the word "lectio". It means: selection, choise, reading, read (as substantive).

[D B Campbell]

It's entered specialist usage, as several have noted, so from a descriptivist standpoint it can't be "incorrect".

Exactly right, Dan.

"adlectio" is simply not a word in the English language ( at least according to the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Of course, we can't expect the OED to keep up with technical terms from everybody's specialist subject.

Birley's use of 'adlected' is technically incorrect, there being no such word in Latin or English

I was beginning to think it might be a British-ism, but even Australian prosopographers use the term "adlected" -- e.g. Brian Jones, Domitian and the Senatorial Order (1979): "Rather than adlect in large numbers to the senate those whose qualifications he regarded as suitable, Domitian preferred to extend the traditional role of the equestrian order" (p. 26).
And, of course, the touchstone for Classical usage must be the venerable Sir Ronald Syme (of Australian origin and British adoption): e.g. Tacitus (1958): "Vespasian took a number of new men into the Senate by adlection, in 69 and in 73, ..." (p. 68 ).
Edit: I've just been gently reminded that Syme was a New Zealander. I wouldn't wish to spark an international incident! (Thanks, Ross.)

I think adlectio is not a Latin word, because I cannot find it in a dictionary.

Clauss-Slaby lists 89 occurrences of the term adlectus. Try it!

For a general readership, English paraphrases seem to be the preferred option.

Agreed. I'm sure nobody would quibble if you use "enrolled" on a web page (although technically it doesn't capture all the nuances of "adlected").

[Paullus Scipio]

Carlton wrote:-

AFAIK 'adlected' is used as the preferred rendering in specialist literature where the exact details matter and the reader is assumed to know the relevant Latin terminology anyway.

...quite right! ( my emphasis)...and specialist usage does not make it 'correct' - that is mere scholarly snobbery, when there is a perfectly adequate English word. If I understand Jona correctly he is writing for a wide general audience, not a specialist one - not to mention those of his audience who are not native English speakers.
Jona wrote:-

Dutch is more versatile than English - under certain circumstances, the past tense can be used to describe things that will happen in the future.

You can do this in English too, though it is rarely used nowadays ! Here is a famous military example by the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo in a scribbled order, written under fire, yet perfectly grammatically correct: "..when the roof will have fallen in, you must...." - a description of a future event in past tense! (future perfect tense)
Danno wrote:-

Depends if you're a descriptivist or prescriptivist.

...oh dear, I can't find those words in the OED either! D lol: Does that mean more specialist usage??
Niels wrote:-

I think adlectio is not a Latin word, because I cannot find it in a dictionary.

......despite Clauss-Slaby, that may well be because the original latin was likely two words - the prefix 'ad' =go to, towards, together and 'lectio'=choosing, selection ( reading out loud,lecture,narrative).

...and for those non-specialists and non-native English speakers who don't understand Duncan's little joke, 'prosopography' is not in the Oxford dictionary either, being a specialist term for a form of social history embracing genealogy,onomastics (study of names etc) and demography. It tries to to examine the whole of a past society, and not in nationalistic, regional, or even strict chronological terms.