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appropinquo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word appropinquo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*própro)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ap.prɔˈpɪŋ.kʷoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ap.proˈpiŋ.kʷo][1]

Forms

appropinquō (present infinitive appropinquāre, perfect active appropinquāvī, supine appropinquātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled adpropinquō.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from ad- (“to, towards”) and propinquō (“to draw near”), a verb from propinquus (“near”).[2][4][1] The adjective is formed on prope (“near”), which de Vaan, following Dunkel, explains as an iterative Proto-Indo-European *própro (“on and on, ever further”) with the second /r/ lost by dissimilation.[5] Cognate with Sanskrit प्रप्र (prá-pra, “on and on”) and Ancient Greek πρόπρο (própro, “before; on and on”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An unknown tragedian has “after the father approaches”,[2] and Cicero has “when dawn was already approaching”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to come near or approach in space, with ad or the dative, as Cicero's man coming near the surface of the water.[2][3] It is also to draw near in time or be at hand, as Cicero's dawn, and to be close to a condition, on the point of something, as Caesar's centurions who were close to the first ranks.[2][3]

Church Latin glosses it “draw near, approach”.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of approaching dawn.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of centurions near promotion.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To come near, approach (a place).[2][3][1][6]
  2. To draw near (in time), be at hand.[2][3]
  3. To be close (to a condition), be on the point (of).[2]

Word family

  • appropinquātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Appropinquo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/appropinquo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·