expleo
Pronunciation
Forms
expleō (present infinitive explēre, perfect active explēvī, supine explētum); second conjugation[1] Festus reports an old explenunt for explent.[2]
Etymology
It is from ex- “out, completely” and ⟨pleō⟩ “to fill”.[2][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of covering completely and of satisfying.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]
Semantic evolution
It meant to fill up a vessel, as in Lucretius, and in Plautus to fill all the space, and to satisfy someone's appetites.[2] In Cicero it meant to bring up to full measure, and to carry to completion.[2] In Propertius it meant to complete a period, suprēmum diem explēre to die, and in Ennius apparently to disembark.[2]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to fill, fulfil, finish, complete.[4] Its derivative explētīvus “filling out” is behind English expletive.[1]
Timeline
- 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of disembarking.[2][3]
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of filling and satisfying.[2][3]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of completing.[2][3]
Meanings
Verb
- To fill up; to cover completely.[2]
- To satisfy.[2]
- To make up (a number).[2]
- To complete, accomplish.[2]
- To complete (a period), suprēmum diem explēre, to die.[2]
Word family
- explēmentum
- explētiō
- explētīvus
- expletor
- inexplētus
- explētrix
- explētus
- inexplēbilis
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson