confingo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kõːˈfɪŋ.ɡoː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koɱˈfiŋ.ɡo]^[1]

Forms

cōnfingō (present infinitive cōnfingere, perfect active cōnfīnxī, supine cōnfictum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + fingō (“to form, mould”).^[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨fingō⟩ to Proto-Italic ⟨*finge/o-⟩ “to knead, form”, Proto-Indo-European *dʰi-n-ǵʰ-, from the root ⟨*dʰeyǵʰ-⟩ also in Oscan ⟨feíhúss⟩ “walls”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is Terence, of fabricating.^[2] Köbler dates Terence 190–159 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to form by shaping, build, as of nests in Pliny; to form a word by composition, as in Varro; to train, mould a person; and in Terence to invent, fabricate a lie or accusation, devise a deception, with fronte cōnfictā “with a feigned face”.^[2][5] Lewis & Short note it is mostly figurative in classical use.^[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to invent, devise.^[7]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of fabricating.^[2][4]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of forming a word.^[5][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny uses it of building nests.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To form, fashion, build.^[2][6]
2. To invent, fabricate.^[2][7]

Word family

• cōnfictiō
• confictō

Related words

• fingō
• fictus
• figūra

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson