caveo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈka.we.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkaː.ve.o]^[1]

Forms

caveō (present infinitive cavēre, perfect active cāvī, supine cautum); second conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kawē-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éie- (“to perceive”).^[2] De Vaan explains the /a/ by an unrounding of PIE /ou̯/ before the stress, so that *kou̯(H)-éie- gave *kawē-.^[2] The perfect cāvī and the participle cautus are regular from it.^[2]

Cognate with Umbrian kutef (“in silence”),^[2] Sanskrit कवि (kaví, “seer, poet”), Ancient Greek κοέω (koéō, “to perceive”) and Old High German scouwōn (“to look at”).^[2][3][1] Wiktionary adds English show.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius onwards.^[2] In Plautus a character says he ought to have taken care before he was ashamed.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was to be on one's guard, and with an accusative to guard against or avoid a danger, as in Terence's “what you can avoid it's foolish to let happen”.^[3] The imperative cave with a subjunctive meant “mind you don't”, and with a dative it meant to look out for someone's interests.^[3]

In law it meant to provide for something in a contract or statute, to give a surety or guarantee, and to obtain security from someone, as in Cicero and Caesar.^[3] The noun cautiō gave English caution, first “bail, guarantee” about 1300, and the subjunctive caveat, “let him beware”, was taken into English in the 1550s.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[2][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the sense “to take precautions”.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of legal provisions.^[3][5]
• c. 1300 – English caution comes from its derivative cautio.^[4]
• 1550s – English caveat is taken from its subjunctive.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To take precautions, be on one's guard, beware.^[3][1]
2. To guard against, beware of.^[3][1]
3. (with ablative or dative) To be on one's guard against.^[3]
4. cave (with subjunctive): mind you don't, do not.^[3][1]
5. (with dative) To look out for, see to (someone's interests).^[3][1]
6. To avoid, keep away from.^[3]
7. (law) To provide, stipulate, decree.^[3][1]
8. (law) To give surety, give a guarantee.^[3][1]
9. (law, with ab) To obtain security from.^[3]

Word family

• cautē
• cautēla
• cautim
• cautiō
• cautor
• cautulus
• cautus
• praecaveō

Related words

• cautionalis
• incaute
• incautela
• incautus
• percautus
• praecautio
• English caution
• English caveat

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de