Etymologically
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curvo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 18:04. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkʊr.woː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkur.vo][1]

Forms

curvō (present infinitive curvāre, perfect active curvāvī, supine curvātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from curvus “bent, curved” with the verb suffix ⟨-ō⟩.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Virgil, “to bend”.[2] Köbler dates Virgil 70–19 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to make curved, bend, as in Virgil, and Statius has curvāre arcum “to bend a bow”.[2][5] In Ovid it meant to make a person stoop, bow, and figuratively to make someone yield.[2] Lewis & Short note it is not found before the Augustan period.[6]

It survives in Italian curvare, French courber and Spanish corvar, and with curvus it gave English curve in the early 15th century.[1][7]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of stooping.[2][4]
  • early 15th century – English curve is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bend, curve.[2]
  2. To make stoop, bow.[2]

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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com