Etymologically
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infigo

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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