Etymologically
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imprecor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɪm.prɛ.kɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈim.pre.kor][1]

Forms

imprecor (present infinitive imprecārī, perfect active imprecātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + precor (“to pray, beg”).[2][3][1] De Vaan treats precor under the noun prex (“prayer, request”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *prek- and Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“question”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short think it perhaps not older than Augustus.[5] Its first use in the OLD and Conte is in Virgil's Aeneid, in a curse: lītora lītoribus contrāria, fluctibus undās imprecor, “I call down shores opposed to shores, waves against waves”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It was used for calling down evil far more than good:[5] Seneca has wishing someone an unlucky voyage, Pliny the Elder dire punishments, Tacitus curses on Tiberius, and Suetonius death.[3][6] With bene it could also mean to bless,[2] as in Petronius,[6] and Apuleius uses it of wishing someone good health after a sneeze.[2][5] Jerome uses it of wishing someone many years.[5][3]

It also meant to call on the gods in prayer, as in Hyginus' Fabulae, Apuleius and Jerome.[2][7] Ecclesiastical Latin kept both senses, invoking good or evil on someone, and cursing.[8] English imprecation (mid-15th century) comes from its noun imprecātiō, and imprecate (1610s) was formed from that.[9]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in a curse in the Aeneid.[2][10]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of good wishes.[6][10]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of curses on Tiberius.[6][10]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of wishing someone health after a sneeze.[2][10]
  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it of praying to God and of wishing someone many years.[7][5][10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To call down (evils) upon someone, imprecate;[2][5][3] (absolute) to utter curses.[2][5][3]
  2. To wish (good things) for someone; with bene, to bless.[2][6]
  3. To call on (the gods) in prayer.[2][7]

Word family

  • imprecātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ 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 d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de