incito

Forms

incitō (present infinitive incitāre, perfect active incitāvī, supine incitātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in- + citō (“to set in motion”).^[2][3][1] ⟨citō⟩ is the frequentative that replaced cieō (“to stir, move”), which became obsolete in Classical Latin; de Vaan derives ⟨cieō⟩ and its participle ⟨citus⟩ from an aorist Proto-Indo-European *(ḱ)ei(h₂)- (“to start to move”), cognate with Ancient Greek κίνυμαι (kínumai, “to be moved”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are Caesar, of a man who spurred his horse against the enemy (incitātō equō), and Cicero.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Incitō is to make something move faster, to urge on, with the proverb currentem incitāre, “to spur a willing horse”; and to set in rapid motion, of the revolving sky (Cicero), with sē incitāre “to rush”.^[2][6] Catullus uses it of stimulating desire and provoking a sparrow's bites, Columella of promoting a vine's growth.^[2] It is to intensify and increase, to arouse feelings, and above all to rouse and encourage people (Cicero: the people already eager were roused more strongly), to incite them to anger or hatred, to provoke, and to stir up revolt.^[2][1]

Döderlein distinguishes incitāre, urging an inactive person by bidding or calling on him, usually to something laudable, like hortārī, from īnstīgāre, spurring on a reluctant person with promises or threats, and irrītāre, inflaming a quiet person's passions.^[7] Church Latin glosses it “cry out loudly, incite, provoke”.^[8] English incite (mid-15th century) came from Old French inciter.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 50 BC – Caesar of spurring a horse.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of the revolving sky and of rousing the people.^[2][5]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a sparrow provoked to bite.^[2][5]
• mid-15th century – English incite, through Old French.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To speed up, urge on, hasten;^[2][1] (reflexive) to rush.^[2][1]
2. To set in rapid motion.^[2][1]
3. To stimulate; to promote the growth of.^[2]
4. To intensify, increase.^[2][1]
5. To arouse (feelings); to rouse, encourage, incite (to).^[2][1][8]
6. To provoke to anger; to stir up to revolt.^[2][8]

Word family

• incitābilis
• incitābulum
• incitāmentum
• incitātiō
• incitātor
• incitatrix
• incitātē
• incitātus

Related words

• citō
• concitō
• excitō
• oscitō
• recitō
• cieō
• English incite

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
8. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com