Etymology and origin of the Latin word dehortor
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin hortor
From the same root
Forms
dehortor (present infinitive dehortārī, perfect active dehortātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] Terence scans it with the first syllable elided, and Ennius splits it by tmesis (dē mē hortātur).[2][3]
Etymology
It is from Latin dē- + hortor (“to urge, encourage”).[2][4][1] De Vaan explains the simple verb as a frequentative of horior (“to urge”), from a participle ⟨*hortus⟩ or by syncope of ⟨horitāre⟩, and traces it to Proto-Italic *χerj- and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer-i- (“to enjoy”).[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is found from Plautus on,[5][4] who uses it absolutely in the Captivi (haud dehortor, “I don't advise against it”).[4]
Semantic evolution
It means to advise someone against a course of action, to dissuade, with nē or an infinitive: in Ennius Hannibal “advises me not to make war”, and Terence and Cato the Elder use it in the same way.[2][3] Its subject can also be circumstances that hold someone back: Cicero writes that the matter itself will invite or deter him, and Sallust that his fortune dissuades him from writing more about Jugurtha.[2][3] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.[3]
Medieval Latin kept both uses, of people dissuaded and of things prevented.[6]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it absolutely.[4][7]
- 204–169 BC – Ennius splits it by tmesis.[2][3][7]
- 234–149 BC – Cato the Elder uses it with an infinitive.[2][7]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of circumstances that deter.[2][7]
- 86–34 BC – Sallust says his fortune dissuades him from writing more.[2][7]
Meanings
Verb
- To advise against a course of action, dissuade, discourage; with nē or an infinitive, to advise not to.[2][3]
- Of circumstances, to hold back, deter.[2]
Word family
- dehortātiō
- dehortātīvus
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry
“Dehortor.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/dehortor. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
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