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facesso

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word facesso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*dʰeh₁-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin facio
English surfeit
French affaire
French faire
French parfaire
French refaire
Latin reficio
Latin facilis
French facile
Latin factor
Latin officio
French officier
Latin facesso
Latin factus
Latin infectus
Latin officium
English office
Latin officiosus
Latin efficio
Latin efficax
Latin effectus
English effect
French effet
Latin factito

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [faˈkɛs.soː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [faˈt͡ʃɛs.so][1]

Forms

facessō (present infinitive facessere, perfect active facessī, supine facessītum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin faciō (“to do, make”) + -essō, an intensive verb like capessō from capiō.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces faciō to Proto-Italic *fak-i- and to the aorist of Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put”), whose ⟨k⟩ spread through the whole verb in Italic.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it in the Menaechmi of carrying out an order,[2][3] and Ennius has robbers carrying out commands and tells people to be off.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Transitively it is to do eagerly, carry out, mostly in poetry: Ennius' robbers carry out orders, and Virgil has commands and a mother's instructions done;[3] Ovid tells a lover to play a thousand jokes.[2][3] In Cicero's usage it means to cause trouble: to make difficulties for someone, to bring a danger on an innocent man,[3] and in law rem facessere is to bring a case as plaintiff.[2] Intransitively it means to go away, be off: Cicero wants certain people to keep away from all part in the state for a while, and Livy has people ordered out of the city.[3] Plautus' Rudens plays on both senses: one man says he is pressing his case, the other that if he were decent he would clear off.[3] Stelten gives "depart, do eagerly, cause" for Church Latin.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of carrying out an order and of pressing a case.[2][3]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius of carrying out commands and of going away.[3][2]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of causing trouble.[3]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of leaving the city.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To carry out eagerly, perform, execute (orders); to perpetrate.[2][3][1]
  2. To bring about, cause (trouble, danger); (law) rem facessere, to bring a case, be the plaintiff.[2][3]
  3. (intransitive) To go away, depart, be off.[2][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Facesso.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/facesso. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·