Etymologically
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defero

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdeː.fɛ.roː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɛː.fe.ro][1]

Forms

dēferō (present infinitive dēferre, perfect active dētulī, supine dēlātum); third conjugation, suppletive[1] The perfect is dētulī and the participle dēlātus; an inscription has ditul-.[2]

Etymology

It is from dē- “down, away” and ferō “to carry”.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of carrying someone or something to a place.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to carry a person or thing to a place, to deliver, as in Plautus, and in Lucretius to bring down, as a crown from Helicon.[2][4] In Cicero rivers carry things downstream, and in Accius winds carry ships to land.[2] In Terence it meant to transfer elsewhere, and in Plautus to pay over money.[2] In Cicero it meant to report, to entrust a task, and to confer an honour, and in Tacitus to inform against, denounce.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to bring, bring down, submit, report.[5] Its participle dēlātus gave dēlātor “informer”, and Spanish and Catalan delatar “to denounce”, and English delate.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of carrying and paying over.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of reporting and conferring.[2][3]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of denouncing.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To carry, bring, deliver.[2]
  2. To bring down; to carry downstream or to land.[2]
  3. To transfer; to pay over.[2]
  4. To report.[2]
  5. To inform against, denounce.[2]
  6. To entrust; to confer (an honour).[2]

Word family

  • dēlātiō
  • dēlātō
  • dēlātor
  • dēlātūra

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson