Etymologically
Log in

fligo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈfliː.ɡoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfliː.ɡo][1]

Forms

flīgō (present infinitive flīgere, perfect active flīxī, supine flīctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *flīg-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleiǵ-e/o- (“to hit, crush”), or *bʰliH-ǵ-.[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek φλίβω (phlíbō, “to rub, crush”), Lithuanian bláižyti (“to tear off”) and Latvian bliêzt (“to beat”).[2][3] De Vaan notes that the meanings match closely, but the forms cannot all go back to one preform.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds it in Livius Andronicus and Accius;[2] in Livius a wounded man throws himself to the ground as he falls.[4] Köbler dates Livius' career to before 200 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to strike or dash down.[3] Lewis and Short call it ante-classical, though Lucretius has it of ships dashed on rocks.[3][4]

It lives on in its compounds: afflīgō “to strike, damage”, cōnflīgō “to clash, fight”, īnflīgō “to inflict” and prōflīgō “to overwhelm”.[2]

Timeline

  • before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it of a wounded man falling.[4][5]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it.[6][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of ships dashed on rocks.[4][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To strike, dash down.[3][1]

Word family

  • afflīgō
  • cōnflīgō
  • efflīgō
  • flīctus
  • īnflīgō
  • prōflīgō
  • English afflict
  • English conflict
  • English inflict
  • English profligate

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.