Etymologically
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deicio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [deːˈjɪ.ki.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [deˈjiː.t͡ʃi.o][1]

Forms

dēiciō (present infinitive dēicere, perfect active dēiēcī, supine dēiectum); third (-iō variant) conjugation[1] In verse the first two syllables are sometimes run together, as in Horace.[2]

Etymology

It is from dē- “down” and iaciō “to throw”, with the vowel of the stem weakened to ⟨i⟩ in the compound.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of knocking something down, and Cato, of throwing down.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to throw down, as in Cato, and in Cicero to hurl a person down, as a punishment from a height; in Varro it was a medical word for evacuating the bowels.[2] In Plautus it meant to knock down, in Martial to let down, in Cicero to overthrow a building, and in Virgil to strike down dead.[2] In Lucilius it meant to dislodge troops from a position, and in Cicero to remove someone from office and to turn someone from a purpose, mente suā dēiectus “driven out of one's mind”.[2]

Its participle dēiectus gave English deject “to throw down” in the early 15th century, and English dejected “low-spirited”, formed from it, in the 1580s.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of knocking down.[2][3]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of throwing down.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of deposing.[2][3]
  • 1580s – English dejected is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To throw down; to hurl down.[2]
  2. To knock down; to let down.[2]
  3. To overthrow; to strike dead.[2]
  4. To dislodge; to depose.[2]
  5. To turn from a purpose.[2]
  6. (medicine) To evacuate.[2]

Word family

  • dēiectiō
  • dēiectō
  • dēiector
  • dēiectus
  • indēiectus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com