Etymologically
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caveo

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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
  • 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