Etymologically
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praefulgeo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prae̯ˈfʊɫ.ɡe.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [preˈful̠ʲ.d͡ʒe.o][1]

Forms

praefulgeō (present infinitive praefulgēre, perfect active praefulsī); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prae- + fulgeō (“to shine, flash”).[2][3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are a fragment of history it ascribes, with doubt, to Quadrigarius, of arms gleaming with gold, and the Bellum Hispaniense, of the engraved work of shields.[2] In Virgil a tawny lion's skin gleams with golden claws (praefulgēns unguibus aureīs).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It means to shine with outstanding brightness, to glitter or shine out: Phaedrus writes of the emerald sheen that shines on a peacock's neck, Seneca of a day shining with a double sun, and Silius Italicus of a ring gleaming with gold.[2][5] Lewis and Short call it rare before the Augustan period.[6] Figuratively it means to stand out, to be conspicuous or outstanding: Livy writes that a recent triumph made someone shine, Velleius of the names of military colonies that stand out, and Tacitus of someone distinguished by the honour of a consulship or a triumph.[2][5][3] Gellius uses it of horsemen gleaming with trappings.[6][7] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to shine forth.[8]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a lion's skin gleaming with golden claws.[2][9]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it figuratively, of the lustre of a triumph.[2][9]
  • c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus uses it of a peacock's neck.[2][9]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of being distinguished by honours.[5][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To shine with outstanding brightness, glitter, gleam out.[2][5]
  2. (figurative) To stand out, be conspicuous or outstanding; to outshine.[2][7]

Word family

  • praefulgidus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b 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
  9. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de