fundo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfʊn.doː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfun.do]^[1]

Forms

fundō (present infinitive fundere, perfect active fūdī, supine fūsum); third conjugation, third person-only in the passive^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *χund-e/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰu-n-d- (“to pour”), a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- (“to pour”).^[2][1] De Vaan thinks that the initial /f/ for PIE *ǵʰ- may be due to the following /u/, and that the d-present was remade into a nasal present.^[2] Germanic has the same extension in -d-.^[2] Cognate with Sanskrit जुहोति (juhóti, “pours, sacrifices”), Ancient Greek χέω (khéō, “to pour”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (giutan, “to pour”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4] In Cato's On Agriculture something is to be poured into hot ointment.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was to pour out a liquid or grain or to empty a vessel, hence to cast metal, as Vitruvius' casting of bronze.^[3] It was to drench, to shed blood or tears, of rivers to pour out their waters, of a woman to give birth, and to send forth light, missiles or words in a stream.^[3][5] From “to pour out” it came to mean to spread out, to scatter an enemy and to rout or overthrow.^[1][6]

Its participle fūsus gave English fusion and fuse, and it survives as Italian fondere, French fondre and Spanish fundir.^[7][1] Stelten keeps the plain sense “to pour” for Church Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato gives recipes in which liquids are poured.^[3][4]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of casting bronze.^[3][4]
• 1550s – English fusion is recorded as “melting by heat”, from fūsus.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To pour, pour out; to empty (a vessel).^[3][6]
2. To cast or found (metal).^[3][1]
3. To drench (with something).^[3]
4. To shed (blood, tears); of rivers, to pour out; of a woman, to give birth to.^[3]
5. To send forth in a stream; to utter freely.^[3]
6. To spread out; to rout, overthrow (an enemy).^[1][6]

Word family

• exfundō
• fūsilis
• fūsūra
• suffundō
• affundō
• circumfundō
• cōnfundō
• dēfundō

Related words

• English fusion
• English fuse

Usage notes

There is a first-conjugation homograph fundāre “to lay the foundations”, from fundus, the source of English found “establish”.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson