Etymologically
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evenio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [eːˈwɛ.ni.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈvɛː.ni.o][1]

Forms

ēveniō (present infinitive ēvenīre, perfect active ēvēnī, supine ēventum); fourth conjugation, impersonal in the passive[1]

Etymology

It is from ex- and veniō “to come”.[2][1][3] Ennius, Plautus and Pomponius have subjunctives ⟨ēvenat⟩, ⟨ēvenant⟩ for ⟨ēveniat⟩, ⟨ēveniant⟩, and the manuscripts sometimes confuse the two forms.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of coming out and of happening.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense, to come out, emerge, is rare, as Horace's pulchrior ēvenit “it comes up fairer”, and Columella uses it of a plant coming up.[2][4][6] With a dative it meant to fall to someone by lot, as in Sallust.[2] Its common sense was to happen, come about, happen to someone, turn out, and of prophecies and prayers to come true, all from Plautus onwards, and Tibullus uses the neuter plural future participle for future events.[2] Döderlein explains that ēvenīre is used of an expected, foreseen occurrence, accidere of an unexpected one.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to come out, come forth, happen, befall.[8] Its noun ēventus gave English event in the 1570s, through French.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of coming out and of happening.[2][5]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of falling by lot.[2][5]
  • c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus uses ēventūra of future events.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To come out, emerge; of plants, to come up.[2][6]
  2. To fall by lot, be allotted (to).[2]
  3. To happen, come about; to happen to.[2]
  4. To turn out; of prophecies or prayers, to come true.[2]
  5. ēventūra, future events.[2]

Word family

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com