determinatus

Determinatus is a Latin adjective meaning "determined, definite, or specified." It is derived from the verb determinare, meaning to determine, set bounds, or fix. In classical and post-classical Latin, determinatus functions as a participle or adjective and agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies (determinatus, determinata, determinatum).

In scholarly and scientific Latin, determinatus can appear as a descriptive epithet in taxonomic names or other Latin phrases. When used in taxonomy, it would appear as an adjective that agrees with the genus in gender, number, and case, and it typically conveys a sense that a feature or state of the organism is fixed or defined by the taxon, rather than indicating a broader quality. It is not a taxon in itself, but a descriptive element that may occur in binomials or diagnoses.

Beyond taxonomy, determinatus occurs in legal, philosophical, and literary Latin to express that something is definitively fixed or determined, as opposed to indeterminatus (indeterminate) or immutabilis (not easily altered). The word is part of a broader vocabulary around determination, with related terms such as determinatio (determination) and determinans (the determining part or present participle).

Etymology notes: determinatus combines the prefix de- with terminare, and its sense centers on setting boundaries, fixing conclusions, or defining attributes. The form is contrasted with related adjectives and nouns such as determinabilis (determinable) and determinitus in various Latin texts.

See also: determinate, determination, determinable, determinism, determinatio.