Identificatio

Identificatio is a Latin noun meaning the act or process of identifying, or the state of being identified. It derives from the verb identificare, formed from identitas (identity, sameness) plus the abstract-noun suffix -io, yielding identificatio. In classical and medieval Latin, identificatio was used to denote establishing the identity of a person, object, manuscript, or specimen.

Usage and domains: In law and administration, identificatio referred to determining a person’s or item’s identity for records or proceedings. In natural history and archaeology, it signified determining the taxonomic or provenance identity of specimens and artifacts. In theology and philosophy, it appeared in discussions of identity over time, sameness, and the criteria for recognizing entities.

In modern scholarship and linguistic work, identificatio is primarily of historical interest; the term is usually translated as identification when rendering Latin passages into English. Contemporary discussions of identification, authentication, and verification that draw on Latin sources may cite identificatio as the historical term for the process.

Relationships to related terms: identitas refers to identity or sameness; identificare is the verb “to identify.” In modern usage, identification and identity cover related concepts across fields such as taxonomy, forensic science, and information security. See also: identitas, identificare, identification, identity, taxonomy, authentication.