attineo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [atˈtɪ.ne.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [atˈtiː.ne.o]^[1]

Forms

attineō (present infinitive attinēre, perfect active attinuī, supine attentum); second conjugation^[1] Also spelled adtineō.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ad- (“to”) + teneō (“to hold”).^[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨teneō⟩ to Proto-Italic *tenē-, from Proto-Indo-European *tn̥-eh₁- (“to hold”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of holding something near and of detaining someone.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Transitively it meant to hold to or near, keep in one's possession, retain, and to hinder, delay, detain, and Lewis & Short note that the active uses are only ante-classical or in the historians.^[2][6] Intransitively it meant, with ad, to extend to, reach, and to concern, be connected with, as in Plautus; impersonally, mostly with a negative, it meant to matter, be relevant, and to be fit or proper, as in Livy.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to pertain to, belong to.^[7] It survives in Italian attenere, French attenir, Spanish atener and Romanian aține.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of holding and of concerning.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it impersonally of what is fitting.^[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To hold to or near.^[2]
2. To keep in one's possession, retain.^[2]
3. To hinder, delay, detain.^[2]
4. (with ad) To extend, reach to.^[2]
5. (with ad) To concern, be connected with.^[2]
6. (impersonal, with a negative) To matter; to be fit or proper.^[2]

Word family

• attina
• perattentus
• attentus
• attinae

Related words

• abstineō
• circumteneō
• contineō
• dētineō
• distineō
• obtineō
• pertineō
• retineō
• sustineō
• teneō

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 l m 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson