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explico

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɛk.splɪ.koː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛk.spli.ko][1]

Forms

explicō (present infinitive explicāre, perfect active explicāvī or explicuī, supine explicātum or explicitum); first conjugation[1] The perfect explicāvī, explicātum is regular in early Latin, explicuī, explicitum becomes common after Cicero.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + plicō (“to fold”).[2][1] Etymonline traces ⟨plicāre⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to plait”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are Plautus, of unfolding, expanding and displaying.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense was to unfold, unroll, straighten, as of cloth in Cicero; then to spread out, extend, and in military use to deploy a line of battle; to extricate from difficulties; to disentangle, settle, solve a problem; to set out in words, explain, as from Varro; to display; and in Nepos to carry out, accomplish.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to explain, unfold, spread out, make clear.[7] English explicate (1530s) is from its participle explicātus.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of unfolding.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of explaining.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of spreading out and solving.[2][5]
  • 1530s – English explicate is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To unfold, unroll, straighten.[2][3]
  2. To extricate.[2]
  3. To disentangle, solve.[2]
  4. To spread out, (military) to deploy.[2]
  5. To explain, set out in words.[2][7]
  6. To accomplish, finish.[2]

Word family

  • explicābilis
  • explicātiō
  • explicātor
  • explicātrix
  • explicātus
  • inexplicatus
  • inexplicitus
  • perexplicatus
  • explicanter
  • explicātē
  • explicitus

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson