concino

Forms

concinō (present infinitive concinere, perfect active concinuī, supine concentum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + canō (“to sing”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces canō to Proto-Italic *kan-e- and Proto-Indo-European *kh₂n-e- (“to sing”), with cognates such as Old Irish cainid (“sings”) and Welsh canu (“to sing”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL dates it from Lucilius.^[3] Lucilius uses it of a plain countryman agreeing with others.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is to sing together or to an accompaniment, and to celebrate in song: Cicero speaks of verses sung in mournful measures.^[2] It is also to shout or chant together: Livy has colleagues speaking in unison.^[2] Of instruments it is to sound together, as signals in Caesar, and of people to play an instrument: Tacitus has priests playing pipes and drums.^[2] Figuratively it is to say the same thing, agree, and of things to be in harmony: Cicero speaks of what seemed most in agreement with probability.^[2] The TLL notes that Virgil never uses it, the elegists and writers on music often, and Ammianus very often in the present participle.^[3] Church Latin glosses it to sing, celebrate in song.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of agreeing.^[2][3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of singing in mournful measures.^[2][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar of signals sounding together.^[2][5]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus of priests playing instruments.^[2][5]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus often has the present participle.^[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sing together or to an accompaniment; to celebrate in song; to chant, shout together.^[2][7][1][6]
2. Of instruments, to sound together, harmonize; of people, to play an instrument.^[2][7]
3. To say the same thing, agree; of things, to be in harmony.^[2][1]

Word family

• concentiō
• concentor
• concentus
• concinentia

Related words

• canō

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e 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 e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press