Etymologically
Log in

pasco

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 00:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpaːs.koː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpas.ko][1]

Forms

pāscō (present infinitive pāscere, perfect active pāvī, supine pāstum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pāske/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *p(e)h₂-sk-e/o-, an sk-present of Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect, herd”).[2][1] Cognate with Hittite paḫš- (“to protect”), Sanskrit पाति (pā́ti, “protects”) and Old Church Slavonic пасѫ (pasǫ, “I graze”).[2][3] pābulum “fodder” and pāstor “shepherd” are from the same root.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus speaks of a shepherd who pastures another's sheep.[3][2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was to pasture or feed animals, to be food for someone, as Horace's olives that feed him, and to maintain or keep, as Plautus' “feed the parasites”.[3] It was to nurture fields and crops and to let them grow.[3][1] In the passive or as a deponent pāscor it was to graze, and it also meant to consume or lay waste.[3][1]

In Christian Latin it was to feed the faithful as a pastor does.[1] It survives as Italian pascere, French paître, Spanish pacer and Romanian paște.[1] English pastor and pasture come from its derivatives, while food is a Germanic cognate.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a shepherd.[3][4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace says olives feed him.[3][4]
  • c. 1300 – English pasture is recorded, from Late Latin pāstūra.[5]
  • late 14th century – English pastor is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pasture, feed (animals).[3][6]
  2. To feed, nourish; to keep, maintain.[3][1]
  3. To nurture (crops), let grow.[3][1]
  4. Pāscor, of animals, to graze.[3][1]
  5. To consume, ravage.[1]
  6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To feed spiritually, as a shepherd.[1]

Word family

  • compāscō
  • dēpāscō
  • pābulum
  • pāscitō
  • pāscor
  • pāscuus
  • pastōrālis
  • pastōrius
  • pāstor
  • pāstūra
  • pāstus
  • repāscō
  • English pastor
  • English pasture
  • English food

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press