Etymologically
Log in

permulceo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 02:14. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛrˈmʊɫ.ke.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [perˈmul̠ʲ.t͡ʃe.o][1]

Forms

permulceō (present infinitive permulcēre, perfect active permulsī, supine permulsum or permulctum); second conjugation[1] The participle permulctus is found in Sallust and Gellius.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- + mulceō (“to stroke”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces mulceō to Proto-Italic *molk-eje- (“to stroke, rub”) and Proto-Indo-European *m(o)lḱ-eie- (“to touch repeatedly”), comparing Sanskrit मृशसे (mr̥śáse); a link with the root of milking, which LIV considers, is possible but unproven.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Pacuvius,[4] in whom a woman offers to wash the dust from a man's feet with the hands with which she often stroked Ulysses.[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It is to stroke or brush gently, caress: Livy has a beard stroked.[2][5] Figuratively it is to soothe or calm a person: Cicero says no consolation could soothe a foolish old age.[2] It is also to relieve pain or discomfort, as Seneca's studies that refresh sick minds,[2] and to charm the senses: Cicero says a speech should at once charm and draw in the listener.[2] Wiktionary adds to soften and to appease or tame.[1]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius of stroking Ulysses.[2][5][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of soothing old age and of a charming speech.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a stroked beard.[5][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of studies that refresh the mind.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To stroke, caress, rub gently; to smooth the hair.[2][5][1]
  2. To soothe, calm, pacify.[2][1]
  3. To relieve, refresh; to alleviate pain or discomfort.[2]
  4. To charm, please, delight the senses.[2][1]

Word family

  • permulsio
  • commulceō
  • mulceō
  • dēmulceō
  • remulceō

References

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