idcirco

Forms

idcircō (not comparable)^[1] Inscriptions also have itcircō, and Apuleius iccircō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is id (“that”), the neuter of is, with a postposed ⟨circō⟩, a form of circum (“around”), like quōcircā.^[2][4][1] The TLL compares German darum.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus.^[5] Terence has idcircō huic nostrō trādita est prōvincia, “that is why this task was given to our man”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Idcircō means “for that reason, on that account, therefore”, often pointing forward to a clause with quod, quia, ut or nē.^[2][3][1] In negative or interrogative sentences with a conditional clause it means “on those grounds” (“if …, does it follow that …?”).^[2] Lewis & Short list ideō and proptereā among its synonyms.^[3]

Church Latin glosses it “therefore, on that account, for that reason”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence: idcircō huic nostrō trādita est prōvincia.^[2][5]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius writes iccircō.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. For that reason, on that account, therefore.^[2][3][1][6]
2. On those grounds (after a conditional clause).^[2]

Related words

• circum
• quōcircā
• ideō
• proptereā

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson