Etymologically
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antehabeo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [an.teˈ(ɦ)a.be.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [an.teˈaː.be.o][1]

Forms

antehabeō (present infinitive antehabēre, perfect active antehabuī, supine antehabitum); second conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ante- (“before”) + habeō (“to have, hold”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨habeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *xab-ē- (“has taken, has”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁b- (“to take”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Tacitus' Annals, incrēdibilia vērīs antehabēre “to prefer the incredible to the true” and vetera novīs “the old to the new”.[4][5] Köbler dates Tacitus 98–115 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to prefer, as in Tacitus, and also to have previously.[2][4]

Timeline

Meanings

Verb

  1. To have previously.[2]
  2. To prefer.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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 d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de