reclamo

Forms

reclāmō (present infinitive reclāmāre, perfect active reclāmāvī, supine reclāmātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + clāmō (“to shout”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan takes clāmō as a verb formed from a noun such as Proto-Italic *klām-o/ā- (“shout(ing)”), from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁-m(o)-.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucretius.^[4][5] The TLL notes that Lucretius scans the first syllable long, while Virgil, Horace and Valerius Flaccus have it short.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is to cry out in protest, object loudly: Cicero writes that whole theatres cry out if a little fault is made.^[2] With the dative it is to protest against something, as legions against promises in Cicero, and Phaedrus has everyone crying out that an injury must be punished.^[2] In poetry it is to call out in response or echo: Valerius Flaccus has a cry of ⟨Hylan⟩ echoed through the wilds, and Statius fields that echo with laments.^[2] In the Digest it is to appeal for one's freedom.^[2] Church Latin glosses it to cry out against, contradict loudly.^[6] English reclaim comes from it, partly through Old French, from the early 14th century, first of calling back a hawk.^[7]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^[4][3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of theatres crying out.^[2][5]
• c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus of crying out for punishment.^[2][5]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius of echoing fields.^[2][5]
• early 14th century – English reclaim.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To cry out in protest, object loudly, contradict.^[2][8][1][6]
2. To call out in response; of places, to echo, resound.^[2][1]
3. (law) To appeal for one's freedom.^[2]

Word family

• reclāmātiō
• reclāmitō

Related words

• acclāmō
• circumclāmō
• clāmō
• conclāmō
• dēclāmō
• exclāmō
• inclāmō
• interclāmō
• praeclāmō
• proclāmō

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press