Etymologically
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perdomo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɛr.dɔ.moː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛr.do.mo][1]

Forms

perdomō (present infinitive perdomāre, perfect active perdomuī, supine perdomitum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- + domō (“to tame”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces domō to Proto-Italic *domaje- and the causative Proto-Indo-European *domh₂-eie/o- (“to tame”), comparing Sanskrit दमयति (damáyati) and Ancient Greek δάμνημι (dámnēmi, “to tame, subdue”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it first in Sallust.[3][5] In the OLD's quotation from his Histories all Gaul this side of the Rhine has been subdued.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to tame thoroughly, of animals and of spirits: Livy writes that fierce spirits must be tamed.[2] Above all it is to conquer completely: the TLL counts it twice in Tibullus, three times in Ovid and 21 times in Livy.[3][2] Lewis & Short date it from the Augustan age and give ⟨subigō⟩ as a synonym.[6] It is also to knead flour or crush grain thoroughly: Seneca has flour worked by constant handling.[2] The grammarian Cledonius claims Cicero used a perfect in ⟨-āvit⟩.[3]

Timeline

  • 86–34 BC – Sallust of subduing Gaul.[2][3][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of taming fierce spirits.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of kneading flour.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To tame thoroughly, break in.[2][6]
  2. To conquer completely, subjugate.[2][6][1]
  3. To knead or crush thoroughly; to break up soil.[2][1]

Word family

  • perdomitor

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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ 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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press