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instinguo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word instinguo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*stengʷ-e/o-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈstɪŋ.ɡʷoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈstiŋ.ɡʷo][1]

Forms

īnstinguō (present infinitive īnstinguere, perfect active īnstīnxī, supine īnstīnctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + stinguō (“to push, prick”).[1] De Vaan traces stinguō to Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ-e/o- (“to push, thrust”), cognate with Umbrian anstintu (“let him attach”); he reconstructs a Proto-Italic stem ⟨*in-stī/eig-⟩ for this compound.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short find it in classical Latin only as the past participle: Cicero has a man driven by madness and audacity in the Verrines.[3]

Semantic evolution

The participle means incited, fired or animated: Livy has men fired by these words and someone driven by the Furies, Suetonius a man spurred by an injury, Quintilian a speaker inspired by a divine spirit, and Velleius people roused to war.[3] Vitruvius speaks of minds stirred by the delights of letters.[3] A finite form is found in Tertullian, of Christ having inspired someone within; in Gellius the manuscripts read instrīnxit.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero has the participle.[3][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of men fired by words.[3][4]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian has a finite form.[3][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To instigate, incite, impel; to fire, inspire (chiefly in the past participle).[3][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“Instinguo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/instinguo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·