affectatio

Affectatio is a Latin noun used in late antique and medieval Latin to denote concepts related to inward emotion and outward display. It derives from the verb affectare, meaning to strive after, to touch, or to influence, with the suffix -atio forming a noun of action or quality. The term is typically feminine (affectatio, affectationis in some grammars) and can appear in phrases such as affectatio animi to denote the emotional disposition of the mind or affectations of desire or passion.

In rhetoric and philosophy, affectatio can refer to the emotional effect produced in an audience or to the speaker’s or writer’s own affective display. In Christian theology and moral philosophy, terms like affectio or affectus denote passions or dispositions of the soul, including love, desire, anger, or sorrow. The vocabulary is characteristic of Latin prose from late classical to medieval writers; it is less common in classical authors, who more often use other terms such as affectus or affectio in specific contexts.

In modern usage, affectatio has limited direct use in English. The related English word affectation derives from Latin affectatio via Old French affectation and now means a pretentious or artificial display of emotion or manner. Consequently, affectatio mainly appears in historical, philological, or textual discussions of Latin rhetoric, theology, and moral psychology. For students of Latin, affectatio illustrates how notions of passion, influence, and display were categorized and debated within different intellectual traditions.