prolongo

Forms

prōlongō (present infinitive prōlongāre, perfect active prōlongāvī, supine prōlongātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin prō- + longus (“long”).^[2][3][4][5] The TLL compares ēlongō.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it first in the Old Latin Bible, in Isaiah's “lengthen your cords” as quoted by Augustine.^[6] Hilary of Poitiers has peccata prolongans (“drawing out sins”) in his commentary on Psalm 128.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

It meant to make something longer in space or further off, and above all to prolong in time: the Psalms speak of a sojourn prolonged, the Vulgate of days prolonged, and Augustine in the Confessions of memory lengthening as he sings.^[6][2][3] Lewis and Short call it a Late Latin word used for prōrogō and prōferō.^[2] In Medieval Latin it also meant to remove or banish, to move away, and to delay or put off,^[8][9] and grammarians used it for lengthening a syllable.^[10] English prolong (early 15th century) comes from Old French and directly from Late Latin, and purloin comes from the Anglo-French form of the same elements.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary of Poitiers uses it of drawing out sins.^[6][7]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for prolonging one's days.^[2][3][4][7]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it in the Confessions.^[11][6][7]
• 796 – Alcuin writes that he wishes another's life to be prolonged.^[10]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as prolong.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lengthen, extend in space.^[6][10]
2. To prolong, protract; to lengthen life or days.^{[2][3][6][12]}
3. (Medieval Latin) To remove, banish;^[8] (intransitive) to move away.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin) To delay, put off.^[8][9]
5. (Medieval Latin, grammar) To lengthen a syllable.^[10]

Related words

• English prolong
• English purloin

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
10. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
11. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
12. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson