Etymologically
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abnego

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈab.nɛ.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈab.ne.ɡo][1]

Forms

abnegō (present infinitive abnegāre, perfect active abnegāvī, supine abnegātum); first conjugation[1] An inscription spells it with ⟨amn-⟩.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ab- + negō (“to deny, refuse”).[2][3][1] De Vaan lists negō among the derivatives of the negative prefix ne- (“not”), explaining it either from nec in its old sense “not” or from neque;[4] that prefix goes back to Proto-Italic *ne (“not”) and Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”).[4] Cognate with Sanskrit न (ná, “not”), Lithuanian nè and Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni, “not”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Virgil, in whom it means to refuse: in the Georgics a shepherd declines to put healing hands to a wound, and in the Aeneid a king refuses a marriage and a dowry.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is mainly poetic and post-Augustan.[5] Besides “refuse, decline” with an infinitive and “refuse to give”,[2] it became a legal word for denying that one had received a deposit or owed money: Seneca, Juvenal and Ulpian use it of a person who disowns a sum entrusted to him, and Quintilian of withholding part of a payment.[2][6] Lucan uses it poetically of the land, which does not refuse the sea a river born again.[2]

In Christian Latin it means to deny,[7] and medieval writers use it reflexively for denying oneself; the MLW records it also for refusing, taking away, renouncing and giving up a right.[8] English took abnegate in the 1650s from its past participle.[9]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it with an infinitive (“refuse to”) and with an object (“refuse to give”).[2][10]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace says that Fidelity does not refuse to be a companion.[2][10]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of denying a deposit.[2][10]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of withholding part of a sum.[2][10]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it in law of denying what one has received.[2][10]
  • 1650s – English borrows abnegate, “deny to oneself”, from its participle.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (with an infinitive) To refuse, decline to.[2][5]
  2. To refuse to give, deny; to reject.[2][6]
  3. To deny that one has received or possesses (a deposit, money).[2][6]
  4. To withhold what is due.[2]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To deny;[7][8] sē abnegāre, to deny oneself.[7][8]
  6. (Medieval Latin) To give up, renounce (a right or claim).[8]

Word family

  • abnegātiō
  • abnegātīvus
  • abnegātor

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de