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exardesco

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exardesco

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (ārdeō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ardeo
Latin ardor
Latin ardesco
Latin exardesco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.saːrˈdeːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eɡ.zarˈdɛs.ko][1]

Forms

exārdēscō (present infinitive exārdēscere, perfect active exārsī, supine exārsum); third conjugation, no passive[1] The Itala has exardisc-.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + ārdēscō (“to catch fire”), the inchoative of ārdeō (“to burn”).[3][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero,[5] who says no material catches fire so easily.[3]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense is “to catch fire, flare up”, and of colour or light to blaze up, as Seneca's mullet glowing redder than vermilion;[3] Cicero also has regions of the earth grown burning hot under the sun.[3] It is very frequent in Cicero in the figurative sense of flaring up in anger: Philippus did not bear the torches of words put to him and blazed up.[3][4] Passions blaze up, wars break out (Cicero's war that suddenly flared up), and in Suetonius prices shoot up beyond measure;[3] Catullus' Ariadne burns with love to the marrow.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “be inflamed, take fire, be kindled”.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of flaring up in anger and of war.[3][5]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of burning love.[3][5]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of soaring prices.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To catch fire, flare up; of light, to blaze up; to become burning hot.[3][4][1][6]
  2. To blaze up with anger; to burn with love.[3][1]
  3. Of passions, to burst out; of war, to break out; of prices, to soar.[3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Exardesco.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exardesco. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·