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defungor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word defungor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*bʰu-n-g-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈfʊŋ.ɡɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈfuŋ.ɡor][1]

Forms

dēfungor (present infinitive dēfungī, perfect active dēfūnctus sum); third conjugation, deponent[1] Terence has the old infinitive dēfungier.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from dē- (“off, completely”) and fungor (“to perform, discharge”).[4][3][1] De Vaan derives ⟨fungor⟩ from Proto-Italic *fung-e/o- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *bʰu-n-g- (“to be of use”).[5] Cognate with Sanskrit भुञ्जते (bhuñjaté, “benefits, enjoys”) and Old Irish bongaid (“breaks, harvests”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Terence,[5] whose prologue to the Eunuchus says “I am done with it now, there is nothing he can say against me”.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is to bring a matter to an end and be quit of it, and with the ablative to get off with a cost, as Livy's state that came through with very few deaths; in law it is to settle a case for a sum.[4][2] It is to be done with or rid of something, as Cicero's wish to be rid of all popular agitation, and to carry out an order;[4][2] dēfūnctus honōribus is one who has completed an official career.[4][2]

From the sense of having finished one's course, the perfect came to mean to have died, as Pliny the Elder's “when he had died, the fish came”.[4] Church Latin glosses it “die, depart, finish, perform”.[6]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence of being done with a matter.[4][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a man who has completed his official career.[4][7]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a state that got off with few deaths.[4][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of a man who has died.[4][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To finish with, be quit of; to get off (with), make do (with);[4][2][1] (law) to settle a case.[4]
  2. To be done with, be rid of; to discharge, perform;[4][2][1][6] dēfūnctus honōribus, having completed an official career.[4]
  3. (perfect) To have died, be defunct.[4][1][6]

Word family

  • dēfūnctiō
  • dēfunctōrius
  • dēfūnctus

Usage notes

Isidore of Seville reports that some named mushrooms (fungī) from the deadly kinds, “whence also the dēfūnctī”.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 n o 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. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Defungor.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/defungor. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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