invio

Forms

inviō (present infinitive inviāre, perfect active inviāvī, supine inviātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

The TLL forms it from the preposition in and a verb ⟨viāre⟩ “to go”, from via (“way, road”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient example is in Solinus, who writes that it seems reasonable to step lightly upon a place grazed bare.^[2][3][4] Lachmann proposed to read inīre there instead.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short and Wiktionary take Solinus' verb to mean to tread upon or set foot on.^[3][1] The TLL notes that a verb of the same form, meaning “to send”, lies behind French envoyer, Provençal ⟨enviar⟩, Spanish enviar, Old Portuguese ⟨emviar⟩, Romansh ⟨enviar⟩ and Italian inviare.^[2][1]

Timeline

• first half of the 3rd century AD – Solinus uses it of stepping on grazed ground.^[2][3][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Late Latin) To tread upon, set foot on.^[3][1][2]

Usage notes

Inviō is also an adverb, “where there is no road”, made from invius;^[5][2] Köbler records it from Livy.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press