Etymologically
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praecido

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [prae̯ˈkiː.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [preˈt͡ʃiː.do][1]

Forms

praecīdō (present infinitive praecīdere, perfect active praecīdī, supine praecīsum); third conjugation[1] An old form praecaedit is quoted by Gellius from Quadrigarius.[2]

Etymology

It is from prae- “in front” and caedō “to cut”, with the vowel changed to /iː/.[3][1][4] De Vaan traces ⟨caedō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kaid-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (“to cut, hew”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of cutting off an extremity, and Cato, of lopping.[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to cut the tip off, shorten, lop, as in Cato; to cut off a part from the whole, as in Caecilius and Cicero's praecīdere ancorās “to cut the anchors”; to cut off an extremity, as in Plautus; and figuratively to cut short a process, bring to a sudden end, as in Cicero.[3][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to cut, cut off or down, cut to pieces.[8] Its participle ⟨praecīsus⟩ “cut short” gave English precise in the mid-15th century, through French précis and Medieval Latin precisus.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][6]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of lopping.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of cutting short.[3][6]
  • mid-15th century – English precise is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To cut the tip off, shorten, lop.[3]
  2. To cut off, sever.[3]
  3. To cut short, bring to an end.[3]

Word family

  • compraecīdō
  • praecidarius
  • praecīsiō
  • praecīsum
  • praecīsūra
  • praecīdāneus
  • praecīsē
  • praecīsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson