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perago

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word perago

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
234–149 BC, Cato
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂eǵ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ago
French agir
Latin actrix
Latin actio
French action
Latin agito
French agiter
Latin perago
Latin adigo
Latin cogo
Latin activus
English active
English activist
Latin actus
English act
Latin actuosus
Latin actor
English actor
English actress
French acteur
Latin subigo
Latin redigo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɛ.ra.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛː.ra.ɡo][1]

Forms

peragō (present infinitive peragere, perfect active perēgī, supine perāctum); third conjugation[1] Cato has the old passive infinitive peragier.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- (“through”) + agō (“to drive, do”).[3][1][4] De Vaan traces agō to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”).[5] The TLL notes that grammarians cite it as a compound that keeps the vowel ⟨a⟩ unchanged.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato, in a speech: cum tantam rem peragier arbitrārer, “since I thought so great a matter was being carried through”.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense, “to drive through”, gives “to chase about, harass” (Seneca) and “to pierce, transfix” (Ovid: Thēseus latus ēnse perēgit), only in poetry and post-Augustan prose.[3][2] Its main sense is “to carry through”: to perform or execute an action, to finish a task (often successfully), to complete something growing or being built, to use up resources, and to play a part (partēs peragere).[3][1] Reum peragere is to carry a prosecution through to the end (Livy, Ovid).[3] It is also to traverse a distance (Vitruvius), and used alone, to pass one's life.[3][1]

Church Latin glosses it “finish, accomplish, complete, celebrate, attain”.[7]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato: cum tantam rem peragier arbitrārer.[3][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy: reum peragere.[3][6]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid: latus ēnse perēgit.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To chase about, harass.[3][1]
  2. To pierce, transfix.[3][2][1][7]
  3. reum peragere, to carry a prosecution through.[3]
  4. To carry out, perform, execute.[3][1]
  5. To finish, complete, accomplish.[3][1][7]
  6. To use up, get through.[3][1]
  7. partēs peragere, to play a part.[3]
  8. To traverse, pass through.[3][1]

Word family

  • perāctiō
  • semiperactus

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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Perago.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/perago. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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