Etymologically
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edissero

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [eːˈdɪs.sɛ.roː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eˈdis.se.ro][1]

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