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incursito

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word incursito

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Rhetorica ad Herennium
Ultimate origin
Latin currō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin incurro
Latin incurso
Latin incursito
From the same root
Latin incursio ← incurro
Latin incursus ← incurro

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪŋˈkʊr.sɪ.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iŋˈkur.si.to][1]

Forms

incursitō (present infinitive incursitāre, perfect active incursitāvī, supine incursitātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin incursō (“to attack, run against”) + -itō, a frequentative verb.[2][3][4] De Vaan lists that verb among the derivatives of currō (“to run”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *korse/o- and Proto-Indo-European *krs-e/o- (“to run”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of someone attacking friends and enemies alike, in omnēs amīcōs et inimīcōs incursitāns, where some manuscripts read incursāns.[2]

Semantic evolution

Seneca uses it of attacking again and again: in On the Happy Life he tells those who enjoy their foul licence to attack one another, and in On Anger he pictures anger as charging, laying waste and routing.[2][3][6] He also uses it of bumping into people by accident in the crowded streets of the city,[2][3] and, figuratively, of stumbling all through life: tōtā vītā incursitāmus.[2][6]

Timeline

  • Undated – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of attacking friends and enemies.[2]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of repeated attacks and of bumping into people.[2][3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make frequent attacks (on), charge at.[2][3][6]
  2. To keep bumping (into); (figurative) to stumble.[2][3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Incursito.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/incursito. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·