insido

Pronunciation

• Classical: [ĩːˈsiː.doː]^[1]
• Ecclesiastical: [inˈsiː.do]^[1]

Forms

īnsīdō (present infinitive īnsīdere, perfect active īnsēdī, supine īnsessum); third conjugation^[1] Tacitus has the perfect īnsīdī.^[2] Its forms are often hard to tell apart from those of īnsideō.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- (“in, on”) + sīdō (“to sit down, settle”).^[2][1] De Vaan traces sīdō to Proto-Italic *sizd-e/o- (“to sit down”) and the reduplicated Proto-Indo-European *si-sd-e/o- (“to sit down”), comparing Umbrian sistu (“to sit down”), Sanskrit सीदति (sī́dati, “sits down”) and Ancient Greek ἵζω (hízō, “to sit down”); he notes that compounds such as this one are attested earlier than the simple verb.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Naevius has it first, of a dictator mounting his chariot.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is to sit or settle on something, as Virgil's bees settle on flowers.^[2][5] In war it is to occupy and hold a position, as Sisenna has a commander seizing higher ground.^[2] It is also to settle in a place and make one's home there.^[2] Celsus uses it of an arrow sinking deep and of wounds or diseases that become deep-seated, and figuratively it is to sink in and become fixed, as Cicero writes that certain hateful suspicions had taken root.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of mounting a chariot.^[2][4]
• 120–67 BC – Sisenna of occupying higher ground.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of suspicions taking root.^[2][4]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus of deep wounds and diseases.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sit or settle on.^[2][5][1]
2. (military) To occupy, seize, hold a position.^[2][1]
3. To settle in, make one's home in.^[2]
4. To sink in, penetrate; of wounds or diseases, to become deep-seated; figuratively, to become fixed.^[2][5][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press