Etymologically
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egeo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɛ.ɡe.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛː.d͡ʒe.o][1]

Forms

egeō (present infinitive egēre, perfect active eguī, future active participle egitūrus); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem except in the future active participle[1]

Etymology

It is a stative verb inherited from Proto-Italic *egē- (“to lack”), beside an old noun *egos “need”, Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-es- (“lack, need”), which survives in egestās “poverty” and egēnus “needy”.[2][1] Cognate with Oscan egmo (“matter, affair”), Old Norse ekla (“lack”) and Tocharian B yäk- (“to neglect”).[2][3][4] indigeō “to need” contains the old preposition *endo “in”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose shipwrecked girls embrace the priestess's knees, in need of help.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to need or want something, usually with the genitive in early Latin and with the ablative from Cicero on, and to be in need of and without something, as Caesar says no one of the people should lack help.[3] Absolutely it meant to be poor, in want, and in the present participle to be devoid of a quality.[6][3]

Döderlein contrasts carēre, to be without something desirable, with egēre and indigēre, to be without something necessary.[7] Indigentia “need” gave English indigence in the late 14th century and English indigent about 1400.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of girls in need of help.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it with the ablative, lacking prestige.[6][5]
  • late 14th century – English indigence is recorded, from indigentia.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To need, want, require.[3]
  2. To be in need of and without, to lack.[3]
  3. To be poor, needy.[6]

Word family

  • egēnus
  • egestās
  • indigeō

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes carēre (to be without what is desirable, the opposite of habēre) from egēre and indigēre (to be without what is necessary, the opposite of abundāre).[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com