cerno

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkɛr.noː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈt͡ʃɛr.no]^[1]

Forms

cernō (present infinitive cernere, perfect active crēvī, supine crētum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *krin-e/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kr̥-n-i- (“to sift, separate”), a nasal present of the root that Wiktionary gives as Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to sieve”).^[2][1] Its original participle became the adjective certus, and the verb formed a new participle, crētus, after the perfect crēvī.^[2][1]

Cognate with Ancient Greek κρίνω (krī́nō, “to separate, judge”),^[2][3] and related to crībrum “sieve” and crīmen.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards.^[2] Cato tells the farmer to pass dried iris root through a sieve, per cribrum cernas.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was to sift.^[3] From this it came to mean to distinguish or separate, and to decide, as in Cicero's law “whatever the senate has decided”.^[3] Cernere hereditatem was to formally accept an inheritance.^[3]

From distinguishing came seeing clearly, as in Ennius' “I see a light in the sky”, and grasping with the mind.^[3] Cicero also used it for examining something.^[3] Its compounds dēcernō and discernō gave English decree and discern.^[2][4] It survives as Romanian cerne, Italian cernere and Spanish cerner “to sift”.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for discerning.^[3][5]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it for seeing a light.^[3][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for sifting.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for deciding and for accepting an inheritance.^[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sift.^[3][6]
2. To distinguish, separate.^[3][1]
3. To decide, determine.^[3][1]
4. cernere hereditatem To accept an inheritance formally.^[3]
5. To see, discern.^[3][1]
6. To perceive, understand.^[3][1]
7. To examine.^[3]

Word family

• cernentia
• concernō
• crētiō
• cretura
• dēcernō
• discernō
• excernō
• incernō
• incrētus
• percernis

Related words

• certābundus
• certāmen
• certātim
• certātiō
• certātivē
• certātor
• certātus
• certē
• certificō
• certitūdō
• certus
• crībrum
• English discern
• English decree
• English secret

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes videre, seeing in general, from cernere, seeing clearly and distinctly.^[7]

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 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 q r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper