quo

Forms

quō (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is an old case form of the relative and interrogative pronoun quī.^[2][3][1] As an adverb of direction (“whither”) it is formed like eō “thither”;^[2] as a conjunction (“whereby, so that”) it is the ablative singular, older ⟨quōd⟩.^[2][4] The pronoun continues the PIE stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who, which”).^[4][5]

Compare Umbrian pue (“whither”), probably from ⟨*kʷō⟩ with an added particle.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a conjunction it is found in the Twelve Tables: hominī mortuō ossa nē legitō, quō post fūnus faciat, “do not gather the bones of a dead man so as to hold a funeral later”.^[2] The adverb is found from Livius Andronicus on.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb quō asks “where to?” (quō agis? “where are you going?”) and “to what end, what for?”; as a relative it means “to which place”, with the subjunctive “so that (someone) may go there”, and after sī or nē “to any place, anywhere”.^[2] It also means “where” (quō locī).^[3]

As a conjunction it connects sentences, “in consequence of which, whereby”;^[2] with comparatives quō … eō means “the more … the more”, and with the subjunctive it means “so that thereby”, replacing ut especially when the clause has a comparative.^[2][1] In Church Latin it is glossed “wherefore, for which reason” and “in order that”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 450 BC – The conjunction is used in the Twelve Tables.^[2][5]
• c. 280–200 BC – The adverb is found in Livius Andronicus.^[4][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: quō agis? “where are you going?”^[2][5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence: quō portās puerum? “where are you taking the boy?”^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil: quō vincula nectitis? “what are you tying knots for?”^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (interrogative) To what place? whither?^[2][3]
2. To what end? what for?^[2]
3. (relative) To which place;^[2] (with subjunctive) so that there.^[2]
4. (after sī, nē) To any place, anywhere.^[2]
5. where (quō locī).^[3]

Conjunction

1. In consequence of which, whereby.^[2][6]
2. quō … eō, the more … the more.^[2]
3. (with subjunctive) So that, in order that (especially with a comparative).^[2][1][6]

Word family

• quōcumque
• quōminus
• quōquam
• quōmodo

Related words

• quī
• eō
• ubi
• unde

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e 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 g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson