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commoneo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word commoneo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*mon-eie-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin moneo
Latin commoneo
Latin admoneo
Latin admonitio
Latin admonitus
Latin monumentum
Latin monitio
Latin monitus
Latin praemoneo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔmˈmɔ.ne.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [komˈmɔː.ne.o][1]

Forms

commoneō (present infinitive commonēre, perfect active commonuī, supine commonitum); second conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + moneō (“to remind, warn”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces moneō to Proto-Italic *moneje- and Proto-Indo-European *mon-eie- (“to make think of, remind”), cognate with Sanskrit मानयति (mānáyati, “to honour, respect”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it in Plautus, with the old passive infinitive ⟨commonērier⟩ in the Pseudolus,[3] and Lewis & Short cite the Miles gloriosus.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is to remind someone forcibly of something, to bring it to mind: Terence has habit and love reminding a man to keep faith, and Cicero says it is enough to be reminded, not taught.[2][5] Its subject can be a thing, as Cicero says Piso's ring had just reminded him.[2] The Rhetorica ad Herennium has it with the genitive of the thing recalled.[2] Late forms include a participle ⟨conmonētus⟩ in church councils of 573–635.[3] Stelten gives “admonish, remind, impress upon”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, the first instances.[5][3][7]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence, of being reminded to keep faith.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of a ring that brought something to mind.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To remind someone of something, put in mind; to admonish, impress upon.[2][5][1][6]

Word family

  • commonitiō
  • commonitor
  • recommoneō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ 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 d 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

“Commoneo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/commoneo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·