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pernego

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pernego

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*ne)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nego
Latin negator
Latin pernego
Latin negativus
English negative

Pronunciation

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

Forms

pernegō (present infinitive pernegāre, perfect active pernegāvī, supine pernegātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- (“thoroughly”) + negō (“to deny, refuse”).[2][3][1] De Vaan derives the simple verb from the negative particle nec, which goes back to Proto-Italic *ne (“not”) and Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”).[4] The TLL explains the prefix as adding obstinacy or force.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Plautus,[3] who uses it eight times;[3] in the Menaechmi a character complains that nothing is more brazen than this fellow, who denies even what you see: quin quae vides ea pernegat.[2]

Semantic evolution

Beside Plautus, the TLL counts one use in Terence, four in Cicero and one in Tibullus.[3] It means to deny an assertion flatly or persistently, as in Plautus' Negas? – Pernego, “You deny it? – I deny it absolutely”, and Cicero's saepe appellati, pernegaverunt, “often asked, they flatly denied it”.[2][5] Plautus also has it for refusing obstinately: non edepol tibi pernegare possum quicquam, “I can't refuse you anything”.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, “deny flatly” and “refuse”.[2][3][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it once.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it four times.[3][6]
  • c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus uses it once.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To deny (an assertion) flatly or persistently.[2][5][1]
  2. To refuse obstinately.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pernego.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pernego. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·