infreno

Forms

īnfrēnō (present infinitive īnfrēnāre, perfect active īnfrēnāvī, supine īnfrēnātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in-¹ + frēnum with the verbal ending -ō.^[2] frēnum (“bridle”) goes back to Proto-Italic *frēno- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰr-eh₁-no- (“holding”), an etymology de Vaan prefers to Ernout and Meillet's link with frendō (“to gnash”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Accius,^[3] whose tragedies have it of curbing anger (iram infrenes).^[2] The TLL notes an older fragment of Ennius, in a damaged or corrupt passage.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense, “put a bridle on” a horse, is in Livy, and Virgil extended it to “harness” chariots;^[2][5] Silius Italicus calls cavalry infrenati manipli.^[2][5] Cicero and later authors used it figuratively for curbing a person or a passion.^[2][6]

Medieval writers used it both for bridling or harnessing and for binding, curbing and subduing.^[7] Old French enfrener and Spanish enfrenar continue it.^[4]

Timeline

• 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of curbing anger.^[2][8]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively.^[6][8]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of harnessing chariots.^[5][8]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of bridling horses.^[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To put a bridle or harness on (a horse); to harness (a chariot); to moor (a boat).^[2][5]
2. (figurative) To curb, restrain (a person or a passion).^[2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) To bind, fasten.^[7]

Word family

• infrenatio
• īnfrēnus

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 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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de