Etymologically
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hio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈhi.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈiː.o][1]

Forms

hiō (present infinitive hiāre, perfect active hiāvī, supine hiātum); first conjugation, no passive[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *χi-ā-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₁i-eh₂- (“to gape, be wide open”).[2] De Vaan compares the formation of Lithuanian žióti (“to open the mouth”), and suggests that the root may be an old i-present of *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave, allow”).[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek χαίνω (khaínō, “to yawn, gape”), Old Norse gína (“to yap, yawn”) and Old High German ginēn (“to be wide open”), and perhaps with Umbrian ehiato, a verb of uncertain meaning.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[2] who in the Mercator speaks of gaping eyes.[3]

Semantic evolution

Its basic sense is to be wide open or gape, of the eyes, the earth or the jaws, and so to have the mouth wide open, as Varro writes “I see them gaping, but I don't hear them laughing”.[3][4] Figuratively it means to gape after something greedily, as Lucretius' ever-gaping thirst for life, to be open-mouthed with wonder, as Virgil's man carried away by applause, and to yawn with languor.[3]

Cicero uses it as a term of grammar and style, of vowels meeting in hiatus and of disjointed, gaping sentences.[3] With an object it means to make the motions of uttering or to sing out, as Propertius' marble statue seems to sing a song on a silent lyre.[3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of gaping eyes.[3][2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of open mouths.[3][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of greed that gapes for life.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of hiatus and disjointed style.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of a man open-mouthed at applause.[3][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of a statue uttering a song.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be wide open, gape.[3][4][1]
  2. To have the mouth wide open, yawn.[3][1]
  3. To gape after, be greedy for.[3]
  4. To be open-mouthed with astonishment or admiration.[3][1]
  5. To yawn with languor.[3]
  6. (grammar) To form or be in hiatus; of style, to be disjointed.[3][1]
  7. With an object, to make the motions of uttering; to utter, sing out.[3][1]

Word family

  • hiāscō
  • hiātiō
  • hiātus
  • hīscō
  • hiulcus
  • inhiō
  • interhio
  • sēmihiāns
  • hiantia

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 l m n o p q r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de