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pervenio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pervenio

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʷem-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pɛrˈwɛ.ni.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [perˈvɛː.ni.o][1]

Forms

perveniō (present infinitive pervenīre, perfect active pervēnī, supine perventum); fourth conjugation, impersonal in the passive[1] Plautus has the present subjunctive pervenat.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from per- “through” and veniō “to come”.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨veniō⟩ to Proto-Italic *gʷn-je/o- (“to come”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥-yé-.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of property passing into someone's hands.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to come to a place, arrive, as in Nepos; to get through, reach, as in Cicero; to extend as far as, as in Livy; with ad aurēs to come to someone's ears; of goods, to pass into someone's hands; to arrive at by reasoning; to attain an office or status, as in Terence; to come into a condition; to reach a stage; and of prices to rise or fall to, as in Caesar.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to come, arrive, attain, reach.[6] It survives in Italian pervenire and French parvenir.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of attaining.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of getting through.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To come, arrive, reach.[2]
  2. To extend as far as.[2]
  3. To come into the hands of.[2]
  4. To attain (an office, a condition, a stage).[2]
  5. (of prices) To rise or fall to.[2]

Word family

  • perventiō
  • perventor

References

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

“Pervenio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pervenio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·