Etymologically
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cerno

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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
  • 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