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decipio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word decipio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (capiō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin capio
Latin accipio
Latin acceptrix
Latin acceptor
Latin accepto
English accept
French accepter
Latin recipio
French recevoir
Latin capax
Latin suscipio
Latin incipio
Latin decipio
Latin praecipio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈkɪ.pi.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o][1]

Forms

dēcipiō (present infinitive dēcipere, perfect active dēcēpī, supine dēceptum); third (-iō variant) conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin dē- + capiō (“to take, seize”).[2][3][4] Lewis & Short take its first sense to be “to catch” an animal running away, as in dēcipula (“snare”).[5] De Vaan traces capiō to Proto-Italic *kap-i-, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂p-i- or a non-Indo-European ⟨*kap-⟩ “to seize”, cognate with Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”) and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hafjan, “to lift”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has ego hunc dēcipiam probē, “I'll fool him nicely”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Dēcipere is “to deceive, mislead, dupe”, of persons and of circumstances (Cicero: the ambiguous oracle that deceived Croesus), and “to escape the notice of” (Horace: a lover is blind to his mistress's faults, which escape him).[2][5][1] It is also “to disappoint, frustrate, cheat” of an expected advantage (Plautus: hope has deceived many who hoped), and to cheat one's family of their hopes by dying.[2][1] Lewis & Short add “to beguile, while away” time or trouble.[5]

Church Latin glosses it “to deceive, catch, snare, beguile”.[7] English deceive comes from it through Old French about 1300.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ego hunc dēcipiam probē.[2][8]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius: tua honestitūdō Danaōs dēcēpit.[2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the oracle that deceived Croesus.[2][8]
  • c. 1300 – English deceive.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To deceive, mislead, dupe.[2][5][1][7]
  2. To escape the notice of, elude.[2][1]
  3. To disappoint, frustrate, cheat (of a hope).[2][1]
  4. To catch, snare.[5][1][7]
  5. To beguile, while away.[5][7]

Word family

  • dēceptiō
  • dēceptīvus
  • dēceptor
  • dēceptrix
  • deceptus
  • dēcipula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Decipio.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/decipio. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·