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cohibeo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word cohibeo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (habeō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [koˈ(ɦ)ɪ.be.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koˈiː.be.o][1]

Forms

cohibeō (present infinitive cohibēre, perfect active cohibuī, supine cohibitum); second conjugation[1] Lucretius has the old perfect subjunctive cohibessit.[2]

Etymology

It is from con- “together” and habeō “to hold”.[3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of holding in subjection.[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to hold together, as in Pacuvius, and to contain, comprehend, as in Cicero's “universal nature contains all natures”.[3][6] In Plautus it meant to restrain, control, and reflexively to exercise self-restraint; in Livy to confine and to hold back from movement; and in Pliny the Elder to check growth.[3]

It was borrowed into Spanish cohibir and English cohibit.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of restraint.[3][5]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of holding together.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of containing.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To hold together.[3]
  2. To contain.[3]
  3. To confine; to restrain, check.[3]
  4. To control, repress.[3]

Word family

  • cohibilis
  • cohibitiō
  • cohibitus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Cohibeo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/cohibeo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·