pluo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈpɫu.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpluː.o]^[1]

Forms

pluō (present infinitive pluere, perfect active pluī or plūvī); third conjugation, no supine stem^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *plow-e/o- (“to rain”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pleu-e/o- (“to swim, float”).^[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek πλέω (pléō, “to sail”) and Sanskrit प्लवते (plávate, “floats”).^[3] The present pluit was probably formed from the compound verbs, since one would expect *plovit, as with fluō.^[2] The sense supposes that “to float” was used of pouring rain.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who says it had rained a lot.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was mostly impersonal, pluit “it rains”, and also meant to fall like rain, as Virgil's acorns raining from a shaken oak, and to rain down stones or blood, the prodigies Livy reports.^[3][5] Early and late Latin also used it personally.^[5] Plautus and Livy have a perfect plūvit.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus says it had rained heavily.^[3][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil compares hail to acorns raining from an oak.^[3][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy reports rains of stones.^[3][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (impersonal) To rain.^[3]
2. To fall like rain, rain down.^[3]

Word family

• dēpluō
• impluō
• perpluō
• pluor
• plutor
• pluvius
• repluō

Related words

• plūma
• fluō
• plōrō
• English pluvial

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press