comburo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kɔmˈbuː.roː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [komˈbuː.ro]^[1]

Forms

combūrō (present infinitive combūrere, perfect active combussī, supine combustum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from con- and ūrō “to burn”, with a ⟨b⟩ taken from ambūrō “to burn round”.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Ennius, of destroying by fire.^[2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to burn up, destroy by fire, as Plautus' house and Caesar's corn and ships, to reduce to ashes in making medicines, as in Cato, to scald, and in Propertius to be consumed with love.^[2][4] It meant to cremate a body, or to burn someone alive, as in Varro, to use up by burning, and of corrosive agents or disease to eat into.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to burn, consume.^[5] French comburer and Italian comburere are borrowings.^[1] English combustion comes from its noun combustiō in the early 15th century, and English combust from its participle combustus.^[6]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of burning.^[2][3]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of burning a house.^[4][3]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of calcining.^[2][3]
• early 15th century – English combustion is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To burn up, consume by fire.^[2]
2. To calcine; to scald.^[2]
3. To cremate; to burn alive.^[2]
4. To eat into, corrode.^[2]
5. (passive, figurative) To be consumed with love.^[2]

Word family

• combustiō
• combustum
• combustura
• sēmicombustus
• uiuicomburium
• combustibilis
• combustīvus
• combustor
• combustus

Related words

• ūrō
• ambūrō
• English combustion

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com