Etymologically

convivo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 18:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɔnˈwiː.woː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koɱˈviː.vo][1]

Forms

convīvō (present infinitive convīvere, perfect active convīxī, supine convīctum); third conjugation, impersonal in the passive[1]

Etymology

It is from con- “together” and vīvō “to live”.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨vīvō⟩ to Proto-Italic *gʷīwe/o- (“to live”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃-we/o-.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Seneca the Elder's Controversiae.[4] Köbler dates Seneca the Elder c. 55 BC–40 AD.[5]

Semantic evolution

A post-Augustan word, it meant to be alive at the same time, be contemporary, as in Quintilian; to live together, spend one's time in company, as in Seneca's avārō convīvere “to live with a miser”; and to dine together, as in Martial.[2][6][4] Tertullian has cum aliquō convīvere.[4]

It survives in Italian convivere and Spanish convivir “to live together”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 55 BC–40 AD – Seneca the Elder uses it.[4][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of living together.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of contemporaries.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To live at the same time, be contemporary.[2]
  2. To live together, live with.[2]
  3. To dine together.[2]

Usage notes

A first-conjugation convīvō, -āre, found in Ennius and Petronius, is a form of convīvor “to feast together”, from convīva “guest”.[2][4][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press