Etymologically
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concito

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkɔŋ.kɪ.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkɔn̠ʲ.t͡ʃi.to][1]

Forms

concitō (present infinitive concitāre, perfect active concitāvī, supine concitātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + citō (“to set in motion”), the frequentative of concieō (“to stir up”).[2][3][4][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of cieō (“to set in motion”), which he traces to Proto-Indo-European *ḱeyh₂- (“to start to move”).[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Accius,[5] who uses it for stirring up trouble.[2] Lucretius has a cold breeze that concitat artūs, “sets the limbs shaking”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Concitō is to set in rapid motion: to hurl a missile, spur on a horse, and in the passive or with sē to rush (Caesar: men sent at full speed to seize a hill).[2][3] It is also to agitate or stir up (the sea by winds), to summon or assemble a crowd (Cicero), to rouse to effort (Cicero: virtue spurs the mind with the goad of glory), to incite and inflame the feelings, provoke to anger, and to bring about or cause (Cicero: how laughter is provoked).[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “arouse, excite”.[6]

Timeline

  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it.[5][2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius: a breeze that concitat artūs.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of virtue spurring the mind.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of troops sent at speed.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To set in rapid motion; to hurl; to spur on.[2][3]
  2. (passive or reflexive) To rush.[2][1]
  3. To agitate, stir up, disturb.[2][1][6]
  4. To summon, assemble.[2][1]
  5. To rouse, incite, provoke; to infuriate.[2][1][6]
  6. To bring about, cause.[2]

Word family

  • concitāmentum
  • concitātiō
  • concitātor
  • concitātrix
  • concitātus

Usage notes

An adverb concitō “rapidly”, from the participle concitus, is given a separate entry in the OLD.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de