Etymologically

pervideo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pervideo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*weyd-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin video
English video
Latin pervideo
Latin provideo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pɛrˈwɪ.de.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [perˈviː.de.o][1]

Forms

pervideō (present infinitive pervidēre, perfect active pervīdī, supine pervīsum); second conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- + videō (“to see”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨videō⟩ to Proto-Italic *wid-ē- (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *wid-eh₁- (“to see”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the OLD's earliest citations are Lucretius and Varro.[2] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC and Varro 116–27 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to see fully, look over, survey, as in Ovid's sōl quī pervidet omnia “the sun who sees everything”, and figuratively to take in with the mind, discern, perceive fully, as in Varro and Cicero.[2][5][6] It survives in Romanian prevedea.[1]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the mind.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the sun.[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To see fully, look over, survey.[2][5]
  2. To discern, perceive fully.[2]

Word family

  • pervidēns

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Pervideo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pervideo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·