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cohortor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word cohortor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*ǵʰer-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [koˈ(ɦ)ɔr.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [koˈɔr.tor][1]

Forms

cohortor (present infinitive cohortārī, perfect active cohortātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] Quadrigarius has an active form cohortō, and Cato uses the past participle in a passive sense.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from con- (“together, thoroughly”) and hortor (“to urge”).[2][3][1] De Vaan explains ⟨hortor⟩ as the frequentative of horior (“to urge”), from Proto-Italic *χerje- and the present Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer-i- (“to enjoy”), with a development “stick out” > “be excited” > “enjoy”; cognates are Oscan herest (“will want”) and Umbrian heri (“wants”).[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is to exhort, rouse or encourage, above all of a general addressing his men before battle, as Caesar's cohortātus suōs proelium commīsit, “having encouraged his men, he joined battle”.[2][5] With an infinitive or ad it is to urge to an action, as Cicero's veterans urged to defend the liberty of the Roman people and his exhortation to philosophy.[2] Fronto uses it of urging a virtue.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “encourage, exhort”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.[4][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of urging to philosophy.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of a general encouraging his men.[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To exhort, encourage, rouse (especially troops before battle).[2][5][1][6]
  2. To urge (to an action).[2]
  3. To urge (a virtue or attitude).[2]
  • hortor
  • adhortor
  • exhortor
  • dehortor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Cohortor.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/cohortor. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·