Etymologically
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contorqueo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔnˈtɔr.kʷe.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [konˈtɔr.kʷe.o][1]

Forms

contorqueō (present infinitive contorquēre, perfect active contorsī, supine contortum); second conjugation[1] Priscian records a supine contorsum beside contortum.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- + torqueō (“to twist”).[4][3][1] De Vaan traces torqueō, a causative verb, to Proto-Italic *torkʷ-eie- and Proto-Indo-European *torkʷ-eie- (“to twist”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius,[5] whose Annals use it of turning horses with great force.[4]

Semantic evolution

It means to twist round or together, as in a line of Pacuvius of a cloak wound round the arm as a shield, and to make crooked, as Cicero's Ram with twisted horns.[4] Most often it is to whirl or swing, and to hurl a missile with a whirling motion, as Lucretius' spear thrown with great force.[4][2] Cicero uses it figuratively of speech hurled with vigour: Demosthenes' thunderbolts would not strike so hard if they were not whirled along by rhythm.[4] Seneca uses it of storms stirring up the sea, and Cicero of a judge to be turned now to sorrow, now to joy.[4] Church Latin glosses it twist, contort, turn.[6] English contort (early 15th century, in medical use) is from its participle.[7]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius of turning horses.[4][5][8]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius of a cloak twisted round the arm.[4][8]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of a hurled spear.[2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of twisted horns and of vigorous speech.[4][8]
  • early 15th century – English contort is formed from its participle.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To twist round or together; to make crooked, contort.[4][2][1]
  2. To whirl, swing; to brandish; to hurl a missile; figuratively, to utter with great vigour.[4][2][1]
  3. To stir up, make rough the sea.[4]
  4. To turn in another direction; figuratively, to sway someone's mind or feelings.[4][1]

Word family

  • contortiō
  • contortor
  • contortulus
  • contortē
  • contortuplicātus
  • contortus

References

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