dissolvo

Forms

dissolvō (present infinitive dissolvere, perfect active dissolvī, supine dissolūtum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin dis- (“apart”) + solvō (“to loosen”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan explains solvō as a compound of ⟨*se-⟩, “away”, and luō (“to loosen”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *luwe/o- and Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut loose”), cognate with Ancient Greek λύω (lúō, “to loosen”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.^[4] In Terence's Phormio a young man wants a little money quī dissolverem quae dēbeō, “to pay what I owe”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to break something into its parts, to take to pieces, as Phidias' shield in Cicero, and to disband a group (Tacitus).^[2] It is to melt or dissolve, as Lucretius' sun melting ice, to make darkness vanish, and of medicines to dispel an ailment.^[2] It is to set free, release from an obligation, and to undo a knot or bond, and Seneca uses it of solving a problem.^[2] It is to pay a debt, to weaken or wear out (Lucretius), and to put an end to agreements or institutions, as Sisenna's broken treaties; of arguments it is to refute, as Cicero says some charges are dispelled with a joke.^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “dissolve, loose, destroy, scatter, free, release”.^[5] English dissolve (late 14th century) comes from it.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.^[4][6]
• 190–159 BC – Terence of paying debts and freeing oneself.^[2][6]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of melting ice.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of taking apart and of refuting.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – English dissolve.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To break up, take to pieces; to disband.^[2][1][5]
2. To melt, dissolve; to dispel.^[2][5]
3. To set free, release; to unfasten; to solve (a problem).^[2][1][5]
4. To pay, discharge (a debt).^[2][1]
5. To weaken, wear out.^[2]
6. To put an end to, annul; to refute.^[2][1][5]

Word family

• dissolūbilis

Related words

• solvō
• luō
• absolvō
• resolvō
• English dissolve

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 k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de