Etymologically
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delenio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈɫeː.ni.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈlɛː.ni.o][1]

Forms

dēlēniō (present infinitive dēlēnīre, perfect active dēlēnīvī, supine dēlēnītum); fourth conjugation[1] Also spelled dēlīniō.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē- + lēniō (“to soothe”);[2][1] the TLL relates it to lēnis (“soft, gentle”), comparing lēna and lēnō.[4] De Vaan traces that adjective to Proto-Indo-European *leh1-n(o/i)- (“lazy, slow”), comparing Lithuanian lė́nas (“lazy”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Plautus on,[4] who has a speaker in the Stichus plan to soothe a man with words.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to soothe, mollify or cajole, and to soothe feelings, as Cicero speaks of allaying fear.[2] It is also to weaken someone's resistance, to charm or bewitch: in the Amphitruo a speaker says they have been so charmed they no longer know who they are, and Titinius has men won over by dowries.[2][3] Servius gives it as the meaning of mulcēre.[4] Wiktionary also gives to corrupt or bribe.[1] It is very often spelled dēlīniō in manuscripts and glosses.[4][3] Church Latin glosses it soften, soothe, charm.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of soothing and charming.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of allaying fear.[2]
  • c. 400 AD – Servius.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To soothe, mollify, cajole; to mitigate.[2][3][1][6]
  2. To charm, win over, bewitch, entice.[2][3][1][6]
  3. To corrupt, bribe.[1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ 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