Titivillus
pronoun

- a demon said to introduce errors into the work of scribes

Your Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The etymology of Titivillus, the demon associated with scribal errors, is not definitively known. Some scholars suggest that the name Titivillus may be derived from Latin. André Vernet points to a possible connection with the goddess Tutilina, mentioned in Augustine's "The City of God”. Tutilina was responsible for watching over stored grain, which could have evolved into Titivillus through a series of copyists' errors.

The first recorded mention of Titivillus by name appears in the "Tractatus de Penitentia," written around 1285 by John of Wales, suggesting that the name originated in Medieval Latin.

The demon's function of collecting fragments (of words) may be inspired by the Biblical narrative of the "Feeding of the Multitude". The Latin terms used to describe Titivillus's actions, such as colligere (collect) and fragmenta (fragments), echo the language used in John 6:12.

The demon was known by various names, including Tutivillus and Tytinillus, before settling on Titivillus.

Ironically, it's possible that the name Titivillus itself is a result of scribal errors over time, particularly if it indeed evolved from Tutilina.

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THE “WICKED BIBLE”

In 1631 the so-called “Wicked Bible" contain a shocking misprint in the Ten Commandments that led to the instruction "Thou shalt commit adultery."

This infamous error occurred in a printing of the King James Bible by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers in London. In Exodus 20:14, which contains the Seventh Commandment, the crucial word "not" was omitted, changing the meaning of the commandment entirely.

The consequences of this error were severe: Most copies were recalled and destroyed. Barker and Lucas were fined £300 (equivalent to about £67,600 in January 2025) and lost their printing license. King Charles I was reportedly furious about the mistake.

This misprint has made the "Wicked Bible" extremely rare and valuable. Only about 10 to 20 copies are believed to still exist. In recent years, copies have sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

The nickname "Wicked Bible" was first applied in 1855 by rare book dealer Henry Stevens. It's also sometimes referred to as the "Adulterous Bible" or "Sinners' Bible". While some have speculated that the error might have been intentional sabotage by a rival printer, there's no concrete evidence to support this theory.

Regardless of its origin, the "Wicked Bible" remains one of the most notorious printing errors in history, serving as a reminder of how a single word can dramatically alter meaning. Do we hear Titivillus chuckling in the background?

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

for “typo”

blip, blooper, blunder, booboo, botch, bungle, copying mistake, corrigendum, erratum, fat finger error, finger slip, keystroke error, letter-slip, misprint, misspelling, mistype, miswording, printer's error, proofreading miss (oversight), scribal screw-up (slip), slip of the finger, slip of the key, textual error (muck-up, oopsie, oversight, hiccup), transcription blunder (whoopsie)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Reading AI generated texts I get the feeling that TITIVILLUS is still very much alive and well in 2025.”

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