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appropio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word appropio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
after 220 AD, Old Latin Bible
Ultimate origin
Latin prope
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin prope
Latin appropio
French approcher
From the same root
Latin propemodum ← prope
Latin propter ← prope
French rapprocher ← approcher

Forms

appropiō (present infinitive appropiāre, perfect active appropiāvī, supine appropiātum); first conjugation[1] Also spelt adpropiō.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ad- (“to”) + prope (“near”), with the verbal suffix -iō.[1][3][4] Etymonline and WFL take it as a compound of ⟨ad-⟩ with Late Latin propiō (“to come nearer”).[5]

Through Old French aprochier it is the source of English approach.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Old Latin Bible (Itala), for example in Deuteronomy.[4][1]

Semantic evolution

It is a word of Christian Latin, “to come near, approach”, used absolutely, with the dative or with ad and the accusative.[3][6][7] Medieval writers used it of people and things drawing near in place and time, of attacking or breaking in, and of approaching someone with reverence; figuratively it meant “to be imminent”, “to turn towards”, “to come close to (the truth)” and “to equal”.[2]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it for “to approach”.[4][8]
  • c. 1300 – English approach is recorded, from Old French aprochier, from this verb.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Late Latin, intransitive) To approach, come near (to).[3][4][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To be imminent, draw near (in time).[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To come close to, nearly equal.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Appropio.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/appropio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·