propitio

Forms

propitiō (present infinitive propitiāre, perfect active propitiāvī, supine propitiātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin propitius (“favourable, well-disposed”) + -ō.^[2][3][1] De Vaan lists the adjective (from Naevius) and the verb (from Plautus) among the derivatives of prope (“near”), which, following Dunkel, he traces to Proto-Indo-European *própro (“on and on, ever further”), an iterated preverb.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus (c. 250–184 BC) on,^[4][5] who uses it of winning Venus over with sacrificial victims (hostiis propitiare Venerem).^[6][7] Pacuvius has it too, in a line quoted by Nonius.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It means to make a god or a spirit favourable, to appease: L&S call it pre-classical and post-Augustan, with Suetonius' shades of Galba, Curtius' Jupiter, Tacitus' Juno appeased through the matrons, and Pliny's divinities.^[7][8] Seneca writes that a man has made his peace with himself, and Tacitus speaks of propitiating one's own genius.^[6][7] Pliny the Elder transfers it to soothing anxiety.^[2] The passive and middle mean to be kindly or helpful, as in Apuleius.^[6] A deponent propitior also occurs, but much less often than the active and passive forms.^[3]

In Christian Latin it is used of God: the Vulgate has the passive for “be merciful” (propitietur vobis Dominus) and the participle for a sin that has been atoned for.^[7][9] Prudentius and Venantius Fortunatus scan the first syllable long.^[7][8] English propitiate goes back to its past participle.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of winning Venus over with victims.^[6][5]
• 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it, in a line quoted by Nonius.^[7][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of soothing anxiety.^[2][5]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of appeasing the shades of Galba.^[7][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses the passive of God being merciful.^[7][5]
• 1580s – English forms propitiate, from the Latin past participle.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To render favourable, win over, appease, propitiate (a god, the shades of the dead).^[2][7]
2. To soothe (feelings).^[2]
3. (passive) To be favourable or kindly; to come to one's help.^[6]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin, passive) Of God, to be merciful; of a sin, to be atoned for.^[7][9]

Word family

• depropitio
• propitiābilis
• propitiātiō
• propitiātor
• propitiātōrium
• propitiatrix
• repropitiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com