edissero

Forms

ēdisserō (present infinitive ēdisserere, perfect active ēdisseruī, supine ēdissertum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + disserō² (“to set out in words, discuss”).^[2][1][3][4] The simple verb is formed with dis- from serō² (“to join, link”),^[5] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ser-e/o- (“to thread, tie together”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus,^[5] in the Captivi: mihi quae dīcam ēdissere, “set out for me what I shall name”.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant to set out in words, explain in full or relate in detail.^[2][7][8] Lewis and Short call it rare but classical.^[6] Cicero uses it in the passive and without an object, describing a speaker as in docendō ēdisserendōque subtīlior, “more subtle in teaching and expounding”;^[7] Virgil has mihi haec ēdissere vēra rogantī, “tell me truly what I ask”,^[6][9] and Livy and Tacitus use it of setting out events or arguments.^[6][7]

The Vulgate uses it of interpreting a dream and of explaining a parable,^[6] and Augustine of those who expound the Scriptures.^[7] Medieval writers used it of setting out a matter in full, and also simply of saying or declaring.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Captivi.^[6][11]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of expounding.^[7][8][11]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the Aeneid.^[6][9][11]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of relating events.^[6][7][11]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of setting out the advantages of delay.^[6][11]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of interpreting a dream.^[6][11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set forth in words, expound, relate in full.^[2][7][8]
2. To interpret, explain (a dream, a parable).^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin) To say, declare.^[10]

Word family

• ēdissertō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de