Etymologically
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infusco

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈfʊs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iɱˈfus.ko][1]

Forms

īnfuscō (present infinitive īnfuscāre, perfect active īnfuscāvī, supine īnfuscātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in-1 + fuscō (“to darken”).[2][1] The TLL derives it from ⟨in⟩ and fuscus (“dark”), comparing fuscō.[3] The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *fusko- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰus-ko- (“dark-coloured”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it from Plautus on.[3] In the Cistellaria he uses it of drink, in the sense “to contaminate, spoil”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense is “to darken, discolour”: an unnamed tragedian has an uncut beard darkening the chest,[2] Virgil uses it of fleeces and of sand stained with gore,[5] and Pliny the Elder of water darkened with ink and of lightning that blackens without burning.[5] Figuratively it meant to corrupt or spoil something, a sense already in Plautus.[2] The elder Seneca applies it to a voice made dull and husky by night work and neglect.[2]

In Late Latin, the Old Latin Bible and Rufinus' translation of Origen use the participle of darkened skin, in the Song of Songs.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of spoiling drink and of making a mess of something.[2][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of darkening fleeces and staining sand.[5][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of water darkened with ink.[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To darken, make dusky, discolour.[2][5]
  2. To contaminate, corrupt, especially figuratively.[2]
  3. To make a mess of, spoil.[2]
  4. To make the voice dull or husky.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de