displico

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈdɪs.plɪ.koː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdis.pli.ko]^[1]

Forms

displicō (present infinitive displicāre, perfect active displicāvī, supine displicātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from dis- “apart” and plicō “to fold”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD and Lewis & Short cite only Varro, apparently in the sense “to scatter”.^[2][4] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Varro it apparently meant to scatter, disperse.^[2][4] The glossaries give it the sense “to unfold”, which is the meaning in Medieval Latin.^[6][3]

Through Old French desploiier “to unfold” it gave English display about 1300, first “to unfurl” a banner, and through French déployer the military English deploy in 1786.^[3] It also survives in Italian dispiegare and Spanish desplegar.^[1]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.^[2][5]
• c. 1300 – English display is recorded.^[3]
• 1786 – English deploy is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To scatter, disperse.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) To unfold.^[6][3]

Related words

• plicō
• explicō
• English display
• English deploy

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.