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accingo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word accingo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Latin (cingō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin cingo
Latin succingo
Latin discingo
Latin accingo
Latin praecingo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [akˈkɪŋ.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [atˈt͡ʃiŋ.ɡo][1]

Forms

accingō (present infinitive accingere, perfect active accīnxī, supine accīnctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ad- + cingō (“to gird”).[2][3] De Vaan finds the origin of ⟨cingō⟩ uncertain: Lithuanian kinkýti (“to harness horses”) fits in meaning but requires a root shape impossible for PIE, and the Umbrian words sometimes compared are themselves obscure.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Terence,[3] whose Phormio has “you must eat it all up: gird yourself!”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its literal senses are “to gird, surround”, as Varro of Atax says of the five zones round the earth, “to gird with a sword” and “to gird on a sword”, both often in Virgil.[2][4] Figuratively it is to equip with aids or support, as Tacitus with eloquence.[2] Most often it is passive or reflexive, “to gird oneself, get ready” for action, as Virgil's men preparing for their spoil and the coming feast.[2][1] Lewis and Short note that in prose it appears only after the Augustan period, while it is a favourite word of Virgil.[4]

Church Latin glosses it “gird, equip”.[5]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence, “gird yourself”.[2][3][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of girding on a sword.[2][6]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of being armed with eloquence.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To gird, surround; to gird up.[2][4][1][5]
  2. To gird with a sword; to gird on a sword; to equip.[2][1][5]
  3. (passive or reflexive) To gird oneself, get ready.[2][1]

Word family

  • accinctus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Accingo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/accingo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·