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cauponor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word cauponor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius
Ultimate origin
Latin caupō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin caupo
Latin cauponor
From the same root
Latin caupona ← caupo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kau̯ˈpoː.nɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kau̯ˈpɔː.nor][1]

Forms

caupōnor (present infinitive caupōnārī, perfect active caupōnātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin caupō (“tradesman, innkeeper”).[1][2][3][4] The OLD derives it instead from caupōna (“inn”).[5] The TLL and Lewis and Short compare Ancient Greek καπηλεύω (kapēleúō), the Greek verb of a retailer.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius uses it in the Annals, in a line Cicero quotes: nec cauponantes bellum, sed belligerantes “not trafficking in war, but waging it”.[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

It was always rare.[6] In Christian Latin it is used of trading in or adulterating the word of God: some texts of the Vulgate have cauponantes verbum Dei in 2 Corinthians 2:17, and Cassiodorus writes cauponari verbum veritatis.[2][6][3] In Hungarian medieval sources it means to sell drink.[8]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of trafficking in war.[2][9]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of trading in the word of truth.[6][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To traffic in, trade in, haggle over (something).[5][3][10]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To make merchandise of, adulterate (the word of God).[3][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To sell drink.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  10. ^ Simpson, D. P. (1959), Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, London: Cassell
Cite this entry

“Cauponor.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/cauponor. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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