Etymologically
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exsolvo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛksˈsɔɫ.woː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eksˈsɔl.vo][1]

Forms

exsolvō (present infinitive exsolvere, perfect active exsolvī, supine exsolūtum); third conjugation[1] It is also spelled exolvō.[2] Lucretius and Ovid scan the ⟨u⟩ as a vowel (exsolŭātur, exsolŭisse).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + solvō (“to loosen, pay”).[2][1] De Vaan analyses ⟨solvō⟩ as a compound of ⟨*se-⟩ “away” and luō (“to loosen”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[4] In the Amphitruo it is to undo a casket (exsolve cistulam), and in the Bacchides a man asks to be quickly untied.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to unfasten or loosen, to open the veins (Tacitus), to thaw ice (Lucretius), and in Lucretius also to solve a problem.[2] It is to set free from bonds, difficulties or obligations, as Terence's “I will free myself of this suspicion”, and to put an end to something, as Ovid's long hunger broken.[2][3] It is to discharge a vow or promise, to pay money or a penalty, as Velleius' man who paid for his bad plans, and to award rewards and punishments (Livy).[2]

Church Latin glosses it “pay back, restore, present; loose”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of untying and of paying vows.[2][4][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of freeing oneself from suspicion.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of thawing ice.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of awarding rewards and punishments.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To unfasten, loosen, untie; to open (the veins); to thaw.[2][1][3]
  2. To set free, release (from bonds, obligations).[2][1]
  3. To put an end to.[2][1]
  4. To perform, discharge (vows, promises).[2][5]
  5. To pay (a debt, a penalty); to award (rewards, punishments).[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de