Etymologically
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appropio

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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