Etymologically
Log in

procudo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 14:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [proːˈkuː.dɔ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [proˈkuː.do][1]

Forms

prōcūdō (present infinitive prōcūdere, perfect active prōcūdī, supine prōcūsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prō- + cūdō (“to beat, strike”).[2][1][3] The simple verb goes back to Proto-Italic *kūd-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *kuh₂-d-e/o- (“to hit”), with cognates such as Lithuanian káuti (“to hit”) and Old Norse hǫggva (“to hew, beat”).[4] The epitome of Festus derived the related excūdō and incūs (“anvil”) from caedō (“to cut”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,[4][6] first in a figurative sense: haec mihi incus est: procudam ego hodie hinc multos dolos, “this is my anvil: today I shall forge many tricks from it”.[2]

Semantic evolution

In its literal sense it means to hammer out or forge: Lucretius uses it of beating metal into sharp points, Virgil of a ploughman hammering out the blunted tooth of a ploughshare, and Horace of forging swords.[2][7] Figuratively it means to produce or bring forth, as Lucretius uses it of fire,[7] and to shape or sharpen, as Cicero speaks of shaping the tongue.[8][3] Nonius glossed it as “draw out, prolong”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of forging tricks.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of hammering metal into points.[7][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of shaping the tongue.[8][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of hammering out a ploughshare.[2][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of forging swords.[8][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To beat into shape, hammer out, forge.[2][7]
  2. (figurative) To fashion, produce; to hammer out, prolong.[2][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. ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.