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Origin and history of apology

apology(n.)

early 15c., "defense, justification," from Late Latin apologia, from Greek apologia "a speech in defense," from apologeisthai "to speak in one's defense," from apologos "an account, story," from apo "away from, off" (see apo-) + logos "speech" (see Logos).

In classical Greek, "a well-reasoned reply; a 'thought-out response' to the accusations made," as that of Socrates. The original English sense of "self-justification" yielded a meaning "frank expression of regret for wrong done," attested by 1590s, but this was not the main sense until 18c. In Johnson's dictionary it is defined as "Defence; excuse," and adds, "Apology generally signifies rather excuse than vindication, and tends rather to extenuate the fault, than prove innocence," which might indicate the path of the sense shift. The old sense has since tended to go with the Latin form apologia (1784), a word known from early Christian writings in defense of the faith.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to apology

apologia(n.)

"defense, justification," 1784, the Latin form of apology (q.v.); popularized by J.H. Newman's "Apologia pro Vita Sua" (1864). It preserves the older sense of the English apology and the sense of the Greek original, especially as used by the Church fathers.

In common Greek, apologia refers to the speech that an accused person delivered in court, rejecting the charges filed against him or her. The apologists of the second century chose this term because they wanted to show that the charges filed against Christians were unjustified and that the truths of their faith could be described and defended. An apologia was dedicated to the Roman empoeror, who certainly never read it. [Max L. Stackhouse, "Apologia," 1988]

Logos(n.)

1580s, "the divine Word, second person of the Christian Trinity," from Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse," also "a computation, account," also "reason, judgment, understanding," from PIE *log-o-, suffixed form of root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak," on notion of "to pick out words." The Greek word was used by Neo-Platonists in metaphysical and theological senses involving notions of both "reason" and "word" and subsequently picked up by New Testament writers.