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imploro

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word imploro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (plōrō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ploro
French pleurer
Latin imploro

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪmˈpɫoː.roː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [imˈplɔː.ro][1]

Forms

implōrō (present infinitive implōrāre, perfect active implōrāvī, supine implōrātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled inplōrō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in- + plōrō (“to cry out, wail”).[2][1][3] De Vaan finds no etymology for ⟨plōrō⟩, and finds Szemerényi's derivation from a dissimilated *prōrō unlikely.[4] The TLL compares the formation of invocō (“to call upon”) and inclāmō (“to call out to”).[3] Paul's epitome of Festus records an archaic ⟨endoplōrātō⟩, glossed “cry out with complaint”, and explains ⟨implōrāre⟩ as asking with tears.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[4] In the Rudens a girl cries vostram ego implōrō fidem, agricolae, “I beg your protection, farmers”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to ask for help or protection with earnest entreaty, as in Plautus, and to call on a person or a god for aid, as in Cicero's “whom shall the allies call upon?”.[2][5] Cicero also appeals to a person's knowledge or memory and to the laws and the rights of citizens.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “implore, beseech”.[6] English implore (c. 1500) comes from it, partly through French.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of begging for protection.[4][2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of calling on persons, gods and laws.[2][8]
  • c. 1500 – English implore.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To ask for (help, protection) with earnest entreaty; to beg.[2][1][5]
  2. To call on (a person, a god) for aid; to invoke, appeal to.[2][1]
  3. To appeal to (laws, rights, a person's memory).[2]

Word family

  • implōrātiō
  • implōrābilis

References

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

“Imploro.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/imploro. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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