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pergo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pergo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₃reǵ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin rego
Latin dirigo
French diriger
Latin directio
English direction
French direction
Latin regula
French règle
French régler
Latin regularis
English regular
Latin regio
French région
Latin regionalis
English regional
Latin rector
Latin surgo
French surgir
Latin consurgo
Latin pergo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɛr.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛr.ɡo][1]

Forms

pergō (present infinitive pergere, perfect active perrēxī, supine perrēctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin per- (“through”) + regō (“to direct”), through ⟨*per-regō⟩.[2][3][1] De Vaan derives regō from Proto-Italic *reg-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o- (“to stretch, direct”), cognate with Ancient Greek ὀρέγω (orégō, “to stretch”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has illa ad nōs pergit, “she is coming our way”, and pergite … Bacchae, “go on, Bacchants”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Pergere is “to make one's way, proceed, go on” toward a destination (Caecilius: ad plēbem pergitur, “they go to the people”), and of a line or path “to run on”.[2][3][1] Most often it means to go on with a course of action, “to continue, proceed”, with an infinitive or an accusative, and in speech “to go on”.[2][3][1]

Church Latin glosses it “to proceed, continue”.[6] Wiktionary also records the rare sense “to awaken”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: illa ad nōs pergit.[2][5]
  • 230/220–168 BC – Caecilius: ad plēbem pergitur.[2][5]
  • c. 165 AD – Aulus Gellius uses it of a nerve running to the heart.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To go on, proceed, make one's way.[2][3][1][6]
  2. To run on (of a line or path).[2]
  3. To continue, go on (with something).[2][3][1][6]
  4. To awaken.[1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Pergo.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pergo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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