procido

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈproː.kɪ.doː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈprɔː.t͡ʃi.do]^[1]

Forms

prōcidō (present infinitive prōcidere, perfect active prōcidī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prō- (“forward”) + cadō (“to fall”).^[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨cadō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kad-e/o-, and doubtfully to Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- (“to fall”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short think it perhaps not ante-Augustan, and Gaffiot cites Horace, ad pedēs “at the feet”, and Livy.^[4][5] Köbler dates Horace 65–8 BC and Livy 59 BC–17 AD.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to fall forward from an upright position, fall flat, collapse, as in Livy; of a part of the body, to be displaced, suffer a prolapse, as in Celsus; and to drop to a lower position.^[2][4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to fall down, fall prostrate.^[7]

Timeline

• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of falling at someone's feet.^[5][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of collapsing.^[2][6]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of prolapse.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To fall forward, fall flat, collapse.^[2]
2. (of a part of the body) To be displaced, suffer a prolapse.^[2]
3. To fall to a lower position, drop.^[2]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To fall prostrate.^[7]

Word family

• prōcidentia
• prōciduus

Related words

• accidō
• cadō
• concidō
• dēcidō
• excidō
• incidō
• intercidō
• occidō
• recidō
• succidō

Usage notes

A rare homograph procīdō (from prō- and caedō) “to strike down, cut off”, a synonym of praecīdō, is known only from the Notae Tironianae.^[4][5]

References

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