Etymologically
Log in

evalesco

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 13:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [eː.waˈɫeːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [e.vaˈlɛs.ko][1]

Forms

ēvalēscō (present infinitive ēvalēscere, perfect active ēvaluī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + valēscō (“to grow strong”).[2][3][1] The simple verb is the inchoative of valeō (“to be strong, be well”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *wal-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ulh₁-eh₁- (“to be strong”).[4] The TLL notes that a perfect ⟨ēvaluī⟩ can belong either to this verb or to ⟨ēvaleō⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotation in the OLD is from Virgil's Aeneid, non medicari cuspidis ictum evaluit, “could not heal the blow of the spear”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that it is not found before the Augustan period.[6] Pliny the Elder uses it of plants growing to full strength, and Seneca of natural talent developing with teaching.[2][7] Quintilian says that many Gallic words have come into use, such as raeda;[2][3] Tacitus writes of peoples growing powerful and of a desire for quiet that grew into a tumult;[2][8] and in the Digest an opinion “prevails”.[2] Macrobius uses it of a price rising to a sum.[7][8] In Medieval Latin it could mean to recover one's strength after an illness.[9]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses the perfect with an infinitive.[2][10]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of plants.[2][10]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of words coming into use.[2][10]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of peoples growing powerful.[2][10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To grow strong, grow to full strength (of plants).[2][6]
  2. To develop, grow (into something).[2][8]
  3. To become powerful (politically).[2]
  4. (in the perfect, with an infinitive) To be strong enough, succeed (in).[2][8]
  5. (in the perfect) To prevail;[2][3] (of words) to come into use.[2][3]
  6. To come to be worth (a sum).[7][8]
  7. (Medieval Latin) To recover one's strength.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  10. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de