parco

Forms

parcō (present infinitive parcere, perfect active pepercī or parsī, supine parsum); third conjugation^[1] Beside the perfect pepercī there are parsī (Plautus, Terence, Cato, Nepos) and parcuī (Naevius).^[2][3][4] Pepercī is the form constantly used by Cicero and Caesar;^[3] parsī is pre-classical and post-Augustan.^[3]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.^[1][5] De Vaan, following Keller and Weiss, takes it to be inherited from Proto-Italic *pe-arkō, with the prefix *h₂epo (“off”) and *h₂erk- (“to hold, guard”) (the root of arceō), so “to hold off”.^[4][1] He finds unconvincing the comparison in LIV with Sanskrit पृच् (pṛc-, “to fill, mix”).^[4] The TLL notes that it is generally connected with compescō (from ⟨*com-perscere⟩), but that nothing is known of the origin of the root.^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus.^[4] Plautus has tacē, parce vōcī, “be quiet, spare your voice”, and Apollō, quaesō tē … ut parcās gnātō meō, “Apollo, I pray you, spare my son”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Parcere is first to be sparing or thrifty with something (with the dative), then to refrain from using it, “to spare” (one's voice, one's strength).^[2][3][1] Its main sense is to refrain from harming, “to spare, be merciful to” a person, and to show consideration for someone's feelings; it also means “to refrain from, forbear”.^[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “spare, keep, preserve, forbear, abstain, desist”, and Wiktionary also gives “to forgive”.^[6][1] Its derivatives include parcus “thrifty” and parsimōnia “thrift”.^[4]

Timeline

• 280/260–before 200 BC – Used by Livius Andronicus.^[4][7]
• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius has the perfect parcuit.^[2][7]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: tacē, parce vōcī;^[2][7] ut parcās gnātō meō.^[2][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses the perfect pepercī.^[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be sparing, economical (with).^[2][3][1]
2. To refrain from using; to save.^[2][1][6]
3. To spare, be merciful (to); to forgive.^[2][3][1][6]
4. To show consideration (for).^[2]
5. To refrain (from), forbear, abstain.^[2][1][6]

Word family

• parsimōnia
• comparcō
• compercō
• compescō
• dispescō
• parcimōnia

Related words

• arceō
• parcus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f 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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de