praedico
praedico1 proclaim, praise
Pronunciation
Forms
praedicō (present infinitive praedicāre, perfect active praedicāvī, supine praedicātum); first conjugation[1]
Etymology
The verb “to proclaim” is a compound of prae- (“before, in front”) and dicō “to proclaim, dedicate”.[2][3][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Plautus has “you tell me what neither is, nor was, nor will be”, and uses it of a public crier announcing an auction.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
Its first use was of the crier, the praecō, who proclaimed sales in public, as in Plautus and Cicero.[4][3] In general it meant to make known, declare or assert, as Caesar's men reporting the huge size of the Germans.[2][4] It also meant to praise or extol, a common sense in Cicero.[4][5] In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to preach the gospel, and in philosophy to predicate.[1] Through Old French preechier it gave English preach, and its participle gave predicate.[6][1]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of a crier and of telling.[2][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero, of proclaiming and praising.[4][5]
- c. 50 BC – Caesar, of reports about the Germans.[2][4]
- mid-15th century – English predicate.[6]
Meanings
Verb
- To proclaim (as a crier), announce publicly.[4][3]
- To declare, assert, make known.[2][4]
- To praise, extol.[4][5]
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) To preach.[1]
- (philosophy) To predicate.[1]
Word family
- praedicātiō
- praedicātor
- praedicāmentum
- praedicātīvus
praedico2 foretell
Pronunciation
Forms
praedīcō (present infinitive praedīcere, perfect active praedīxī, supine praedictum); third conjugation, irregular short imperative[1]
Etymology
It is from prae- “before” and dīcō “to say”.[2][1][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citation is from Naevius, of prescribing beforehand.[2] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.[7]
Semantic evolution
In Terence it meant to say beforehand, to mention in advance, and to give warning of, foretell.[2] In Naevius it meant to appoint beforehand, prescribe, recommend.[2] Döderlein contrasts dīvīnāre, foreseeing by divine inspiration, with praesāgīre, foreseeing by natural presentiment, and praedīcere, foretelling.[8]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to foretell, predict, prophesy.[9] It survives in Italian predire, French prédire and Spanish predecir, and its participle praedictus is behind English predict, first recorded in the 1620s.[1][6]
Timeline
- c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it of prescribing.[2][7]
- 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of foretelling.[2][7]
- 1620s – English predict is recorded.[6]
Meanings
Verb
- To say beforehand, mention in advance.[2]
- To warn of; to foretell, predict.[2]
- To prescribe, recommend.[2]
Word family
- praedictiō
- praedictīvus
- praedictum
- praedictus
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson