po-
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Forms
po- [1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Italic *po,[2][1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó, a zero grade of *h₂epó.[1] De Vaan thinks it probably related to ab,[2] and Pokorny lists it under the root of Greek ἀπό (apó, “from”).[3] It is not found as an independent word in Latin.[2]
Cognate with Lithuanian pa- (a perfective prefix),[2] Avestan pa-zdayeiti (“drives away”) and Old High German fona (“from”).[3]
Semantic evolution
It survives only fused into a few verbs: pōnō and its participle ⟨positus⟩ from ⟨*po-sinō⟩, ⟨porceō⟩ “keep off” from ⟨*po-arceō⟩, and probably ⟨poliō⟩ “polish” and ⟨polūbrum⟩ “washbasin”.[2][3] Leumann took ⟨poliō⟩ instead as a back-formation from the perfect ⟨polīvī⟩.[2]
Meanings
Prefix
Word family
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke