Etymologically
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rapio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈra.pi.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈraː.pi.o][1]

Forms

rapiō (present infinitive rapere, perfect active rapuī, supine raptum); third (-iō variant) conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *rap-i- (“to seize”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i- (“to seize”).[2] De Vaan takes it from the zero grade *h₁rp- of a root *h₁rep-, which gave *erp- and then a new zero grade *rap- beside a full grade *rep-.[2] Schrijver instead posits a separate root *h₁rh₁p-, with the same meaning.[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐρέπτομαι (eréptomai, “to devour, snatch away”), Albanian rjep (“to strip, rob”) and Lithuanian aprė́pti (“to take, catch”).[2][3] Older dictionaries compared Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds it first in Naevius, with an older s-future in Plautus.[2] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

Its basic sense was to seize and carry off by force.[3] From this it meant to take property as plunder (in law it distinguished robbery from theft), to sack a place, to carry off and ravish a woman, and, of death or disease, to carry a person off.[3] It also meant to seize something by constraint and to hurry a person along, and with a reflexive pronoun to rush off.[3][1]

The derivatives rapidus, rapāx and rapīna keep the idea of violent speed and greed.[2] The verb survives in Italian rapire and French ravir, the source of English ravish; English rape came through Anglo-French raper, a legal term probably from Latin rapere.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses the verb.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has the old s-future surrepsit.[2][6]
  • c. 1300 – English ravishen “to seize by violence” is recorded, from Old French ravir.[7]
  • late 14th century – English rapen “to seize prey, abduct” is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To seize and carry off, snatch away.[3]
  2. To take by force as plunder, (law) to rob.[3]
  3. To sack (a place).[3]
  4. To carry off and violate, ravish.[3]
  5. (of death or disease) To carry off.[3]
  6. To seize by constraint, get hold of.[3]
  7. To drag or hurry along, (reflexive) to rush off.[3][1]

Word family

  • abripiō
  • arripiō
  • corripiō
  • dīripiō
  • ēripiō
  • praeripiō
  • prōripiō
  • rapīna
  • rapāx
  • rapidus
  • rapō
  • raptim

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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com