equito

Forms

equitō (present infinitive equitāre, perfect active equitāvī, supine equitātum); first conjugation, no passive^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin eques (“horseman”) + -ō.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Lucilius, of seeing a horse run and carry a rider.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to ride on horseback:^[2][3] Cicero writes of peoples among whom skill in hunting and riding is praised, and of someone who rode in the army.^[2][3] Sallust, Horace and Suetonius use it too, and Horace has riding on a long reed.^[3] Paul's epitome of Festus records that the ancients said equitāre for serving with a public horse.^[2] It is also to skirmish or manoeuvre on horseback.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of a horse carrying a rider.^[2]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of riding.^[2][3]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust.^[3]
• 65–8 BC – Horace of riding on a reed.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To ride on horseback;^[2][3][1] (of a horse) to carry a rider.^[2][3][1]
2. To serve with a public horse, as a knight.^[2]
3. To skirmish, manoeuvre.^[1]

Word family

• abequitō
• adequitō
• circumequitō
• equitābilis
• equitātiō
• equitātus
• inequitō
• interequitō
• obequitō
• perequitō
• praeterequitō

Related words

• eques
• equester
• equīnus
• equus

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press