Etymologically
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gratificor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɡraːˈtɪ.fɪ.kɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ɡraˈtiː.fi.kor][1]

Forms

grātificor (present infinitive grātificārī, perfect active grātificātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] An active grātificō is found in Late Latin.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin grātus (“pleasing”) + -ficus + -ō, “to make pleasing”;[4][1] the TLL compares the phrase “grātum facere alicui” “to do someone a favour”.[2] De Vaan traces grātus to Proto-Italic *gʷrāto- (“grateful”) and Proto-Indo-European *gʷrH-to- (“praised in song”),[5] and Wiktionary traces ⟨-ficus⟩, from faciō (“to make”), to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short's instances begin with Cicero,[3] who writes in a letter of people who think they are pleasing Pompey.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is to oblige or gratify a person, as Cicero has of freedom when the people may do good men a favour, and of a god who bestows nothing on anyone.[3] With an object it is to bestow something as a favour, or to give it up, as Cicero's man who was too free in giving away rights.[4][3] Livy and Tacitus also use it.[3] The TLL notes an active grātificō from the old Latin Bible on,[2] and the Vulgate has grātificāvit in Ephesians 1:6;[3] Augustine says it is said from grātia.[2] English gratify comes from it, from about 1400.[6] Stelten gives “gratify, oblige”.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of obliging and of bestowing.[4][3][8]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of being complaisant.[3][8]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate, in an active form.[3][8]
  • c. 1400 – English gratify.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To show kindness to, oblige, gratify, humour.[4][3][1][7]
  2. To bestow as a favour, make a present of; to give up, sacrifice.[4][3]
  • grātus
  • grātificātiō
  • English gratify

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de