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infigo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word infigo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 180–102 BC, Lucilius
Ultimate origin
Latin (fīgō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin figo
Latin fixus
Latin infigo
Latin praefigo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈfiː.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iɱˈfiː.ɡo][1]

Forms

īnfīgō (present infinitive īnfīgere, perfect active īnfīxī, supine īnfīxum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + fīgō (“to fix, fasten”).[2][1] De Vaan reconstructs fīgō as Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ-e/o- or ⟨*dʰiHgʷ-e/o-⟩; the old form ⟨fīvere⟩ preserved by Paulus' abridgement of Festus keeps the regular outcome of ⟨*gʷ⟩ between vowels.[3] Cognate with Lithuanian díegti (“to plant, sting”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucilius,[3] who has a man drive a little wooden shield into another's brain.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to drive in a weapon or sharp object, as in Cicero's “to drive a sword into an enemy's breast”, and to impale, as Virgil's Ajax whom Pallas fixed on a sharp rock.[2][4] It is also to fasten on, as Caesar's stakes fitted with iron hooks, to plant firmly, as in Cicero's question how a god could be fixed in the world, and in Seneca's Medea to press kisses on her children.[2] Above all in Cicero it is to fix in the mind or memory, and the participle is used of deeply rooted feelings and ideas; it is also to fix the mind or gaze on something.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “fasten in, thrust in, stick fast, infix”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of driving a weapon into the brain.[2][3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a sword in the breast and of thoughts fixed in the mind.[2][4][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of iron hooks.[2][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of Ajax impaled on a rock.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To drive in, thrust in; to impale.[2][4][1]
  2. To fasten on, attach; to fix firmly, plant; to press kisses.[2][4][1]
  3. To fix in the mind, implant, impress; the participle, deeply rooted.[2][4]
  4. To fix the mind or gaze on.[2]

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 k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Infigo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/infigo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·