Etymologically
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conquiesco

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔŋ.kʷiˈeːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [koŋ.kʷiˈɛs.ko][1]

Forms

conquiēscō (present infinitive conquiēscere, perfect active conquiēvī, supine conquiētum); third conjugation, no passive[1] Cicero has the short perfect conquiesti, Livy and Afranius conquiesse.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + quiēscō (“to rest”).[3][1][4] De Vaan explains quiēscō as a present built on the perfect ⟨quiēvī⟩, which probably continues a root aorist; the noun quiēs (“rest”) goes back to Proto-Italic *kʷiētis and Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁-ti- (“rest, peace”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The comedian Afranius already has the short perfect form ⟨conquiesse⟩.[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short find it in good prose, most of all in Cicero, especially in figurative senses.[2] It is to take rest, and also to sleep: Caesar has someone who had gone to sleep at midday.[3] Cicero uses it of the dead who find no rest, of never ceasing from effort, of a pause in speaking and of peace of mind.[3] Of things it is to settle down or cease: Celsus writes of the pulse becoming calm, Cicero of shipping that comes to a halt.[3] Church Latin glosses it to rest.[7]

Timeline

  • 2nd half of 2nd century BC – Afranius uses it.[3][4][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of cattle resting.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the dead, of rest from effort and of peace of mind.[3][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of sleeping at midday.[3][6]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus of the pulse settling.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To rest, take repose; to go to sleep; of the dead, to rest.[3][2][7][1]
  2. To cease from effort, pause; to pause in speaking.[3]
  3. To have respite from something.[3]
  4. To find peace of mind, relax.[3]
  5. Of things, to settle down; of activities, to come to an end.[3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ 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 d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson