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pernotesco

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pernotesco

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
98–115 AD, Tacitus
Ultimate origin
Latin (nōtēscō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin notus
Latin notesco
Latin pernotesco
Latin innotesco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛr.noːˈteːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [per.noˈtɛs.ko][1]

Forms

pernōtēscō (present infinitive pernōtēscere, perfect active pernōtuī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1] It is found only in perfect forms.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- (“thoroughly, completely”) + nōtēscō (“to become known”).[3][1][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Tacitus,[2][5] who says that everything soon became widely known: adeō cūncta mox pernōtuēre.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to become generally or thoroughly known, often with a sense of speed.[3][2] Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[7] Tacitus also uses it impersonally with an accusative and infinitive, pernōtuit, “it became known that…”, as when it became known that it was Caesar who was roaming about.[2][6] In the declamations ascribed to Quintilian a new fault becomes notorious, nova culpa pernōtuit.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it personally and impersonally.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To become generally known, become notorious.[3][7][5]
  2. (impersonal, with accusative and infinitive) It became known (that).[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pernotesco.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pernotesco. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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