calcitro

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkaɫ.kɪ.troː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkal̠ʲ.t͡ʃi.tro]^[1]

Forms

calcitrō (present infinitive calcitrāre, perfect active calcitrāvī, supine calcitrātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨*calcitrum⟩ “a kick”, from calx “heel” with the suffix -trum (compare tālitrum), and the verb suffix -ō.^[2][1] De Vaan finds the origin of ⟨calx⟩ “heel” unclear; some suggest a non-Indo-European, perhaps Etruscan, source.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of being refractory.^[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to kick with the heels, of animals, as in Ovid and Pliny the Elder, and figuratively to be refractory, kick against something, as in Cicero.^[2][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to kick.^[6]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively.^[2][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of kicking.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To kick with the heels.^[2]
2. To be refractory, resist.^[2]

Word family

• calcitrātus
• calcitrōsus
• recalcitrō

Related words

• calx
• calcō

Usage notes

A noun calcitrō, genitive -ōnis, “a kicker”, is found in Varro, of a horse, and in Plautus, of someone who kicks at doors.^[2][5][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.