Etymologically
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asso

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 00:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈas.soː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈas.so][1]

Forms

assō (present infinitive assāre, perfect active assāvī, supine assātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin assus (“roasted”) + -ō.[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨assus⟩ to Proto-Italic *asso- (“dried, roasted”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂d-to- (“dried up”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short call it Late Latin, citing Apuleius, and Gaffiot also cites Apicius.[5][6] Köbler dates Apuleius c. 125–175 AD.[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant to roast, broil, as in Apuleius, Apicius and the Vulgate's assāvērunt Phase super ignem “they roasted the Passover over the fire”.[2][5][6] It survives as Italian assare, Spanish asar and Portuguese assar.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it.[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To roast, broil.[2][5]

Word family

  • assārius
  • assatura
  • inassātus
  • subasso

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de