caute

Forms

cautē (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin cautus (“cautious”) + -ē.^[2][1] cautus is the past participle of caveō (“to beware”); de Vaan derives it from Proto-Italic *kawitos and the verb from Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éye- (“to perceive”).^[3] He compares Sanskrit आकुवते (ā-kuváte, “intends”) and Ancient Greek κοέω (koéō, “to perceive, understand”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus.^[4] The OLD's first quotation is from Lucilius, of deceiving without danger to oneself.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means with precautions, carefully, and also without risk: Cicero writes that something was all he could safely put in a letter.^[2] The comparative ⟨cautius⟩ and the superlative ⟨cautissimē⟩ are found.^[2] Church Latin glosses it carefully, circumspectly.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[4]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of doing something without risk.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of what can safely be written.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Cautiously, with precautions, circumspectly.^[2][1][5]
2. Without risk or danger.^[2]

Related words

• cautus
• caveō
• cautiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson