Etymologically
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praedo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈprae̯.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈprɛː.do][1]

Forms

praedō m (genitive praedōnis); third declension[1] The final -o of the nominative is short in Lucan and Valerius Flaccus, long in Claudian.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin praeda (“booty”) + -ō, as Isidore also saw.[3][2] De Vaan treats ⟨praeda⟩ under prehendō: it is usually explained as ⟨*prai-χed-ā-⟩ “what one acquires”, but Livingston argues for an o-grade noun, ⟨*prai-χod-ā-⟩; the root is Proto-Italic ⟨*χend-⟩ “to seize”, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰend- (“to grab”), cognate with Ancient Greek χανδάνω (khandánō, “to grab”) and Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (duginnan, “to begin”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, Pseudolus: ita in aedibus sunt fūrēs, praedō in proximōst, “there are thieves in the house, and a robber next door”.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

A praedō is one who lives by plunder, a brigand, and at sea a pirate: Cicero accuses Verres of letting pirate chiefs go for money.[3][5] Plautus already uses it as a term of abuse beside scelestī and rapācēs.[3] In Roman law it is someone who takes possession of property knowing it is not his, as opposed to the possessor in good faith (Gaius).[3] Lewis & Short give latrō and raptor as synonyms.[5] Augustine plays on it: nē, cum vīs esse praedō, sīs praeda, “lest, wanting to be the robber, you become the prey”.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “robber, plunderer”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a robber and as abuse.[3][5][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of pirate chiefs.[3][7]
  • 140–180 AD – The jurist Gaius of a possessor in bad faith.[3][7]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine: nē … sīs praeda.[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A robber, brigand, plunderer; a pirate.[3][1][6]
  2. (law) One who takes possession in bad faith.[3]

Word family

  • praedōnius
  • praedōnulus

Usage notes

Praedō is also an active form of the verb praedor, “to plunder”.[1][5] The TLL records a separate, rare verb praedō “to give beforehand”, from prae- and dō, in Caelius Aurelianus.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de