lascivio

Forms

lascīviō (present infinitive lascīvīre, perfect active lascīviī, supine lascīvītum); fourth conjugation, no passive^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lascīvus (“playful, wanton”) + -iō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucilius uses it of a herd frisking.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to frisk, frolic or gambol, of animals, and then to indulge in play or levity, as Seneca's kings sporting at sea.^[2] It is also to act without restraint, run riot: Cicero says one may run riot as long as one fears nothing, and Livy has Appius Claudius say the plebs was wanton rather than savage.^[2][3] Manilius uses it in erotic contexts, and Quintilian of a style that runs riot, as he warns a narrative should not.^[2] Lewis & Short find it infrequent before the Augustan period.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of a frisking herd.^[2]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of running riot.^[2][3]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a wanton plebs.^[3]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of style.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To frisk, frolic, gambol.^[2][3][1]
2. To sport, indulge in levity.^[2][3]
3. To run riot, be unrestrained or wanton; of style, to indulge in licence.^[2][3][1]

Word family

• lascīvībundus

Related words

• lascīvus
• lascīvia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press