ascisco

Forms

ascīscō (present infinitive ascīscere, perfect active ascīvī, supine ascītum); third conjugation^[1] It is also spelled adscīscō.^[2][3] The perfect is always ascīvī in early and classical Latin, never ascīī.^[3]

Etymology

It is formed from ad- (“to”) and scīscō (“to approve, decree”), the inchoative of sciō (“to know”).^[2][1] De Vaan derives ⟨sciō⟩ from Proto-Italic *skije- (“to know”), probably a back-formation from nesciō, and connects it, as “to distinguish, decide”, with Proto-Indo-European *skh₁-i- (“to incise”), cognate with Ancient Greek σχάω (skháō, “to slit open”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest examples in the OLD are Lucretius, of men who “take harsh masters”, and Cicero.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to take a person to oneself as an ally or associate, as Hirtius' exiles from every city, to admit to citizenship or rank, to adopt into a family, to take as a ruler and to engage for pay, as Livy's Lucanian youths hired for money.^[2][3] It is also to adopt laws or practices from others, as Cicero's laws “which the Latins wanted, they adopted”, and Ovid uses it of importing food.^[2]

It is to approve of a course of action or recognize something as such, and with a reflexive dative to claim for oneself or arrogate, as Cicero's “I have never spoken of myself boastfully to win praise”;^[2] Statius has it for bringing a fate on oneself.^[2] Church Latin glosses it “receive, approve”.^[5]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of taking masters.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of adopting laws and claiming praise.^[2][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of hiring men.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To take to oneself, admit (as an ally, citizen, member); to adopt; to engage, hire.^[2][3][1]
2. To adopt (a law, practice) from others; to import.^[2][1]
3. To approve of; to recognize as.^[2][1][5]
4. (with reflexive dative) To claim, arrogate to oneself.^[2][1]
5. To bring upon oneself.^[2]

Related words

• cōnscīscō
• dēscīscō
• perscīscō
• rescīscō
• scīscō
• sciō
• adoptō
• assūmō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b 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