fugio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfʊ.ɡi.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfuː.d͡ʒi.o]^[1]

Forms

fugiō (present infinitive fugere, perfect active fūgī, supine fugitum); third (-iō variant) conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *fug-i-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰug-i- (“to flee”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg-.^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek φεύγω (pheúgō, “to flee”), aorist φυγεῖν (phugeîn), and Ancient Greek φυγή (phugḗ, “flight, exile”), and Avestan būjat̰ (“frees”).^[2] The OLD and older dictionaries also compared Sanskrit भुजति (bhujati, “bends”) and Old English būgan (“to bow”), but de Vaan gives only the Greek and Iranian cognates.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from the Twelve Tables and Livius Andronicus.^[2] Köbler dates the Twelve Tables to about 450 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to run away, take flight, flee, and transitively to flee from something, as Plautus' fugere hostes.^[3] It was used of going into exile, patriam fugere, of slaves who absconded and soldiers who deserted, of escaping by flight, and of shunning or avoiding something.^[3] Of things it meant to speed away, to recede, as Virgil's fleeing Athos,.^[3]

Medieval Latin used fugere ā saeculō of leaving the world for a monastery.^[5] Its descendants include French fuir, Italian fuggire and Spanish huir.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables use it.^[2][4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of running away from the enemy.^[3][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of going into exile.^[3][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To run away, take flight, flee, (transitive) to flee from.^[3]
2. To speed away, fly, (of places) to recede.^[3]
3. To go into exile (patriam fugere).^[3]
4. (Of slaves or troops) to abscond, desert.^[3]
5. To escape; to avoid, shun.^[3][6]

Word family

• aufugiō
• cōnfugiō
• dēfugiō
• diffugiō
• effugiō
• fugāx
• fugēla
• fugitīvus
• fugitō
• fugitor
• interfugiō
• perfugiō

Related words

• fuga
• fugitāns
• fugō
• perfuga
• trānsfuga
• English fugitive
• English refuge
• English centrifugal

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 e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.