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concelebro

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word concelebro

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Italic (*kelisri-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔŋˈkɛ.ɫɛ.broː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kon̠ʲˈt͡ʃɛː.le.bro][1]

Forms

concelebrō (present infinitive concelebrāre, perfect active concelebrāvī, supine concelebrātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

The OLD and the TLL derive it from con- and celebrō (“to frequent, celebrate”),[2][3] but de Vaan argues that it is the oldest derivative of celeber (“crowded, frequented”), earlier attested than celebrō, which was back-formed from it.[4] The origin of celeber is unknown; de Vaan suggests Proto-Italic *kelisri- with a question mark.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it of filling the street with song, suavi cantu concelebra omnem hanc plateam hymenaeo, “fill this whole street with a sweet wedding song”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is to go to a place often or in large numbers, to frequent,[2] as in Lucretius' birds that throng the waters;[5] also to fill with song or with living things, as when Lucretius' Venus fills the lands with life.[2][5] It also means to honour by attending in numbers, to celebrate: Plautus speaks of celebrating a birthday, Cicero of a triumph that all the Roman people wanted to see and celebrate, and Livy of a funeral and a spectacle.[2][5] Cicero uses it of pursuing studies in leisure.[2] It also means to spread abroad, to make known or famous, as in Lucilius, and in Caesar's spreading of a victory by report and by letters.[2][5] Tibullus has it of honouring a guardian spirit with dances.[5] In Church Latin it is to celebrate together, to concelebrate.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of filling a street with song and of keeping a day.[2][7]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius, of spreading abroad.[2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of birds thronging the waters.[5][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of celebrating a triumph.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar, of spreading news of a victory.[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To go to a place often or in numbers, to frequent;[2][5] to fill with song or with living things.[2][5]
  2. To honour by attendance, to celebrate, solemnize;[2][5][1] to keep a day as a festival.[2]
  3. To pursue vigorously, pay constant attention to.[2][5]
  4. To spread abroad, publish, make famous;[2][5][1] to extol.[5][1]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To celebrate together, concelebrate.[6]

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 j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Concelebro.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/concelebro. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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