pertinemus

Pertinemus is a neologism used in discussions of relevance and contextual continuity to denote the property of sustained significance across changing contexts. In contemporary usage, pertinemus describes ideas, data sets, artifacts, or claims that remain interpretable, applicable, or valuable when moved between disciplines, cultures, or time periods.

Etymology: The term appears to be formed from Latin pertineo “to pertain” with an abstract suffix -mus; it is not attested in classical Latin but has been adopted in modern scholarly glossaries to capture cross-context pertinence.

Definitions and framing: In theoretical discussions, pertinemus is treated as a multi-layered concept that includes (1) theoretical significance, the degree to which something can be meaningfully discussed across domains; (2) practical persistence, the durability of usefulness or interpretability; and (3) evaluative criteria, the norms governing when cross-context transfer is appropriate.

Applications: Proponents use pertinemus to analyze why some concepts survive recontextualization (for example, a statistical method that remains valid across fields) while others lose meaning. In linguistics and semiotics, it helps explain cross-linguistic or cross-cultural transfer of terms. In digital humanities, it is used to assess the longevity of sources and datasets.

Reception: Pertinemus remains a niche term and not widely standardized. Some scholars welcome it as a clarifying heuristic for cross-context analysis; others view it as vague and overly broad. Further consensus may emerge through future discourse.

See also: Relevance, Pertinence, Contextuality, Transfer of learning.