Etymologically
Log in

concerno

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 15:09. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔŋˈkɛr.noː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kon̠ʲˈt͡ʃɛr.no][1]

Forms

concernō (present infinitive concernere, perfect active concrēvī, supine concrētum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- (“with, together”) + cernō (“to sift, discern”).[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine uses it in the Confessions (5.10) of mixing things together as in a sieve.[4][5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The Late Latin sense is “to sift together, mix”, which glosses also give for the participle concrētus, “mixed”.[2][4] Jerome has it once in the sense of cernō, “to see”.[2] In Medieval Latin it came to mean “to consider, observe” and “to concern, relate to”;[8][9] British writers use it of these senses from Roger Bacon on, and the present participle concernēns means “concerning, touching”.[9] The medieval word is the source of English concern, partly through Old French.[3]

Timeline

  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of mixing together in a sieve.[4][7]
  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it for “to see”.[2][7]
  • 13th century – Roger Bacon uses it of considering and of what something concerns.[9]
  • early 15th century – Borrowed into English as concern, “to perceive; to relate to”.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To mix, mingle together, as in a sieve.[4][5][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To consider, observe, regard.[8][9][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To concern, relate to, pertain to;[8][9][10] (present participle) concerning.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften