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cohonesto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word cohonesto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
170–c. 90 BC, Accius
Ultimate origin
Latin honōs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin honestus
French honnête
Italian onesto
Latin honesto
Latin cohonesto
From the same root
Latin honeste ← honestus
Latin inhonestus ← honestus
Latin dehonesto ← honesto

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ko.(ɦ)ɔˈnɛs.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ko.oˈnɛs.to][1]

Forms

cohonestō (present infinitive cohonestāre, perfect active cohonestāvī, supine cohonestātum); first conjugation[1] A contracted ⟨cōnestat⟩ appears in a line of Accius, in a conjectural text.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + honestō (“to honour”).[2][1][4] De Vaan lists ⟨co(ho)nestāre⟩ among the derivatives of honōs (“honour”), whose ⟨hon-⟩ can hardly go back to anything but Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰon- or Proto-Indo-European *gʰon-; no further etymology is known.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Accius,[5] in whose line pro se quisque cum corona clarum conestat caput each man graces his famous head with a garland.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Its main sense is “to do honour to”: in Cicero friends gather to honour a funeral with their presence,[2][3] Livy writes of a plan for using and honouring a victory, and has men urged to honour with courage the death that fortune has left them,[2][6] and Tacitus of a funeral graced with a eulogy from the rostra.[2][6] An inscription speaks of honouring the memory of a girl.[2]

It also meant “to make respectable, give credit to”: Cicero accuses an opponent of trying to dignify his statues with the authority of others, and Seneca asks why a person should not rather lessen the thing than the thing lend dignity to the person.[2][7] Pliny the Elder uses it of hair that has fallen out being restored by a plaster of seed.[2][6][7] Arnobius uses it ironically, and of glossing over shameful acts with words.[6][3] It survives in Spanish cohonestar and Catalan cohonestar.[1]

Timeline

  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses the contracted ⟨cōnestat⟩.[6][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of honouring a funeral.[2][8]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of honouring a victory.[2][8]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of restoring fallen hair.[2][8]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus writes of a funeral graced with a eulogy.[2][8]
  • 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it of glossing over shameful acts.[6][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To honour, pay respect to, grace.[2][6][3]
  2. To make respectable or honourable, lend dignity to; of fallen hair, to restore.[2][7]
  3. (Late Latin) To gloss over (shameful acts).[6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Cohonesto.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/cohonesto. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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