edification (n.)
mid-14c., in religious use, "a building up of the soul," from Old French edificacion "a building, construction; edification, good example," and directly from Latin aedificationem (nominative aedificatio) "construction, the process of building; a building, an edifice," in Late Latin "spiritual improvement," from past participle stem of aedificare "to build" (see edifice). Religious use is as translation of Greek oikodome in I Corinthians xiv. Meaning "mental improvement" is 1650s. Literal sense of "building" is rare in English, but Middle English bilding sometimes was used in religious writing to translate Latin aedificatio.
Entries linking to edification
late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth" + combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
Aedis is from PIE *eidh- "to burn, burning" (source also of Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames;" Avestan aesma- "firewood;" Greek aithein "to burn," aithos "fire;" Latin aestas "summer," aestus "heat;" Lithuanian iesmė "firewood;" Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal;" Old English ād, Old High German eit "funeral pile," Old Norse eisa "burning coals"), which is perhaps related to the root *as- "to burn, glow."
updated on October 13, 2021
