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introspicio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word introspicio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*speḱ-ie/o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin intro
French entrer
French rentrer
Latin introfero
Latin introeo
Latin introitus
Latin introspicio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.troːsˈpɪ.ki.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [in.trosˈpiː.t͡ʃi.o][1]

Forms

intrōspiciō (present infinitive intrōspicere, perfect active intrōspexī, supine intrōspectum); third (-iō variant) conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin intrō (“inwards”) + speciō (“to look”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces speciō to Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”), with cognates such as Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “to look at”) and Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look around”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL reads it from Cicero on, more often in Tacitus.[3] In De haruspicum responso Cicero worries that one of his people might unwittingly look into someone's house.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It means to look into or peer in, as into houses or huts in Cicero;[2][6] in the passive it means to be seen within.[2] It also means to look upon: Tacitus speaks of eyeing the good fortune of others with jealous eyes.[2][6] Figuratively it is to examine mentally: Cicero tells the jurors to look deep into the minds of Catiline and his associates.[2] Manuscripts sometimes have intrō aspicere or intrō īnspicere instead.[3] Stelten gives "look into" for Church Latin.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of looking into a house and into Catiline's mind.[2][3]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of eyeing others' good fortune.[2]
  • 1680s – introspect appears in English, "to look into".[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To look into, peer in;[2][6][1] (passive) to be seen within.[2][6][1]
  2. To look upon, regard.[2][6]
  3. To examine mentally, inspect, look into.[2][6][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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Introspicio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/introspicio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·