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deposco

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word deposco

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*pr̥ḱ-sk-e/o-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈpɔs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈpɔs.ko][1]

Forms

dēposcō (present infinitive dēposcere, perfect active dēpoposcī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is formed from dē- (“down, fully”) and poscō (“to demand”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨poscō⟩ to the sk-present Proto-Indo-European *pr̥ḱ-sk-e/o- (“to ask”), cognate with Umbrian pepurkurent (“they will have demanded”).[4]

Varro, quoted by Servius, distinguished ⟨poscere⟩, asking for something as a due, from ⟨petere⟩, asking humbly with prayers.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero has “I would not only not refuse it but even demand it” in the Philippics.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to demand firmly or ask for, as Cicero's appeal that all allies and citizens demand one general for the war, and to claim a task or office for oneself, as the conspirator who claimed the task of setting fire to Rome.[2][5] Of things it is to require, as Cicero's temple that the fire required to be rebuilt more splendidly.[2] It is also to demand a person for punishment, as Cicero's opponents who were thought to demand him out of enmity.[2][5]

Wiktionary adds “to challenge” and “to pray earnestly”.[1] Church Latin glosses it “demand, beseech, appoint”.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of demands, claims and punishment.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To demand, ask for, request earnestly.[2][5][1][6]
  2. To claim (a task, office) for oneself.[2][5]
  3. (of things) To require.[2][1]
  4. To demand (someone) for punishment.[2][5]
  5. To challenge; to pray earnestly; to appoint.[1][6]

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 j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Deposco.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/deposco. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·