obstino

Forms

obstinō (present infinitive obstināre, perfect active obstināvī, supine obstinātum); first conjugation^[1] It is also spelled opstinō.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ob- + *stanō, an unattested verb related to stō (“to stand”).^[2][1] De Vaan explains the base as the old nasal present Proto-Italic *sta-n-e/o- (“to place”), from Proto-Indo-European *st-n(e)-h₂- (“to place”), which survives in Latin only in prefixed verbs of the first conjugation.^[3] dēstinō and praestinō are formed the same way.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds it from Naevius on;^[3] the OLD's first example is in Plautus' Aulularia (c. 250–184 BC),^[2][4] where a man has set his mind on a marriage alliance.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to set one's mind on, be determined on, with an accusative (Plautus, Livy), an infinitive (Livy: “they had resolved in their minds to win or die”) or ad (Tacitus).^[2] As a finite verb it is rare, but its participle obstinātus is frequent as an adjective.^[5]

A medieval Polish sermon uses it for making someone obdurate.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it with an accusative.^[2][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it with an infinitive.^[2][4]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it with ad.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set one's mind on, be determined on; to persist in.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) To make obdurate.^[6]

Word family

• obstinātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl