Etymologically
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invalesco

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.waˈɫeːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iɱ.vaˈlɛs.ko][1]

Forms

invalēscō (present infinitive invalēscere, perfect active invaluī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1] Late spellings with ⟨-isc-⟩ occur in Rufinus and Augustine.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + valēscō (“to grow strong”), with the intensive prefix.[3][2][1] valēscō is formed from valeō (“to be strong”),[4] which goes back to Proto-Italic *wal-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ulh₁-eh₁- (“to be strong”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL and the OLD find it first in Celsus, of the body gaining strength.[2][3] Lewis & Short also cite a passage of Cicero for it.[5]

Semantic evolution

Columella uses it of a vine before it has grown strong.[3] Quintilian, Tacitus and Suetonius use it of things gaining power, such as a strong emotion or conspiracies detected before they grew strong;[3] Pliny the Younger has a love that grew stronger and an earthquake so violent that everything seemed overturned.[3][6] From Quintilian on it also meant “come into use, prevail”, of customs and of words, and Ulpian has it of a legal opinion gaining ground.[3][6] The TLL notes that it is a word of prose; poetry has it once, in Venantius Fortunatus.[2]

The Vulgate uses it often of people who prevail or grow strong.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of the body regaining strength.[3][8]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of a vine.[3][8]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a custom gaining ground.[3][8]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of a legal opinion gaining ground.[3][8]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of people who prevail.[6][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To become physically strong, gain strength.[3][9]
  2. To increase in power or effectiveness.[3]
  3. To grow stronger, increase in intensity.[3][6]
  4. To come into use, predominate, prevail.[3][5]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Of people, to prevail, gather strength.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier