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pervolo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pervolo

pervolo1 fly through

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʷelh₁-ie/o-)
Etymology tree of pervolo1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin volo
French voler
French voleur
Latin pervolo
Latin nolo
Latin evolo
Latin devolo
Latin volatilis
Latin convolo
Latin advolo
Latin benevolens
Latin benevolus
Latin transvolo

Forms

pervolō (present infinitive pervolāre, perfect active pervolāvī, supine pervolātum); first conjugation[1] Lucretius divides it by tmesis, perque volāre.[2][3]

Etymology

The verb “to fly through” is from Latin per- + volō2 (“to fly”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces volō2 (“to fly”) to Proto-Italic *gʷela-je/o- and Proto-Indo-European *gʷelh₁-ie/o- (“to raise the arm, throw”).[4] Cognate with Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, hit”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Ennius on,[3] who has dust flying through the whole strait of the sky, pulvis omnem pervolat caeli fretum.[2]

Semantic evolution

Of birds it is to fly through or over a place, or to wing one's way: Virgil has a black swallow flying through a rich man's great house, and Ovid a rumour flying on beating wings.[2] Cicero uses it of the soul flying to the gods at death, and in the De re publica of a trained soul flying more swiftly to its true home;[2] Varro of the mind that flies in an instant where it will.[2] Of heavenly bodies and physical forces it is to pass swiftly through the air, as in Lucretius, Manilius and Seneca.[2] Of persons it is, by exaggeration, to rush through or over a place: Cicero has a man who covered fifty-six miles in ten hours by gig, and Juvenal Automedon driving at speed along the Flaminian Way.[2][5] In verse only some forms are used.[3]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius, of dust flying through the sky.[2][3][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of particles flying over sea and land.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of the soul and of a fast journey.[2][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of a swallow flying through a house.[2][6]
  • c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal, of driving at speed.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. Of birds: to fly through or over a place, to wing one's way.[2][5][1]
  2. Of heavenly bodies and forces: to pass swiftly through the air.[2][5]
  3. Of persons: to rush through or over, to hasten.[2][5]

pervolo2 wish greatly

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*uelh₁-)
Etymology tree of pervolo2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin volo
French voler
French voleur
Latin pervolo
Latin nolo
Latin evolo
Latin devolo
Latin volatilis
Latin convolo
Latin advolo
Latin benevolens
Latin benevolus
Latin transvolo

Forms

pervolō (present infinitive pervelle, perfect active pervoluī, future active participle pervolitūrus); irregular conjugation, suppletive, no passive, no supine stem except in the future active participle, no imperative, no gerund[1] The indicative is apparently not attested;[2] the subjunctive pervelim is the commonest form.[3] Cicero divides it by tmesis, per videre velim.[5][3]

Etymology

The verb “to wish greatly” is from Latin per- + volō1 (“to want”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces volō1 (“to want”) to Proto-Italic *wel- and Proto-Indo-European *uelh₁- (“to strive after, pursue”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Plautus,[3][5] in the Casina: nunc pervelim progredire senem, “now I would very much like the old man to come out”.[5]

Semantic evolution

It means to wish greatly, to be very desirous;[2] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.[5] Cicero has “I should very much like to learn from you”, scire ex te pervelim, a man he would very much like to see, and his wish to be forgiven.[5] Livy uses the infinitive in reported speech and writes “I could wish that this were falsely reported”.[5][3] Augustine also uses it.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, pervelim.[5][3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, in speeches and letters.[5][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of a wish that a report were false.[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To wish greatly, to be very desirous.[2][5][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 h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 j k l Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c 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 f g h i j k l m n Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pervolo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pervolo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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