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consocio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word consocio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin socius
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin socio
Latin consocio
From the same root
Latin dissocio ← socio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kõːˈsɔ.ki.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [konˈsɔː.t͡ʃi.o][1]

Forms

cōnsociō (present infinitive cōnsociāre, perfect active cōnsociāvī, supine cōnsociātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + sociō (“to unite, associate”), or formed directly from socius (“companion”).[2][3] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of socius, which he traces to Proto-Italic *sokjo- and Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-(h₂)-i-o- (“companion”); he compares Old English secg (“man, warrior”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL and de Vaan record it first in Plautus,[3][4] who in the Rudens uses it intransitively: vel consociare mihi quidem tecum licet: aequas habemus partes, “I may as well go into partnership with you: we have equal shares”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It means to bring into alliance or close relationship, or, intransitively, to enter into partnership.[2] Lewis and Short find it most often in Cicero, Livy and Tacitus.[5] Cicero tells the people that they have never been so closely united with the senate, and speaks of men joined with the gods by law.[2] It is also used of things: Lucretius has atoms that could not join their motions, Horace pines and poplars that love to mingle their shade, and Plautus sweat that mixes with perfume.[2][5] With plans and actions it means to share or join in: Livy has regnum consociant, “they share the kingdom”, and peoples who once joined arms with the Gauls, and Cicero speaks of plans for his own ruin shared with Gabinius.[2] Tacitus uses it of a form of state blended from the others.[2] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to associate with or share.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of going into partnership.[2][4][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the motions of atoms.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the people united with the senate.[2][7]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of a mixed constitution.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bring into alliance or close relationship, unite;[2][5] (intransitive) to enter into partnership.[2][5]
  2. Of things, to join, mix; to form by combining.[2]
  3. To share, join in plans or actions with someone, to associate.[2][5][6]

Word family

  • cōnsociābilis
  • cōnsociātim
  • cōnsociātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b 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
Cite this entry

“Consocio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/consocio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·