redundo

Forms

redundō (present infinitive redundāre, perfect active redundāvī, supine redundātum); first conjugation, third person-only in the passive^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from re- (“back, again”) and undō (“to surge, rise in waves”),^[2][1] from unda (“wave”).^[1] De Vaan derives ⟨unda⟩ from Proto-Italic *udōr and Proto-Indo-European *ud-ōr (“water”), cognate with Umbrian utur (“water”), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 (wato, “water”); the sense “wave” comes from a collective “body of water”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest quotation is Lucretius, of images that flow back to us from a mirror.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to flow back, and of water or other liquids to run over or overflow, as Cicero's phlegm that overflows; of solids it is to come to the top or be vomited up.^[2] Figuratively it is to spill over into something, as Cicero's fear that matters might spill over into the following year, and to be filled to excess, as Columella's land soaked with moisture.^[2] A frequent sense is to redound or turn to someone's profit, loss or danger, and in the jurists of a liability to fall back on someone.^[2][4] It is also to be present to excess, to abound in something, and of style to be over-exuberant.^[2][1]

Lewis and Short call it a favourite word of Cicero, especially in figurative senses, and absent from Caesar and Virgil.^[4] Döderlein contrasts abundāre, plenty in a good sense, with redundāre, over-abundance in a bad sense.^[5] Church Latin glosses it “overflow”.^[6] English redound came from it through Old French in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of images flowing back.^[2][8]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of overflowing, of credit redounding to someone and of exuberant speech.^[2][8]
• 1st century AD – Columella of waterlogged land.^[2][8]
• late 14th century – English redound.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To flow back.^[2]
2. To run over, overflow; to come up, be vomited.^[2][4][1][6]
3. To spread over into; to be filled to excess.^[2]
4. To redound, turn to someone's profit or loss; of a liability, to fall back on.^[2][1]
5. To be present to excess; to abound in.^[2][1]
6. Of style, to be over-exuberant.^[2]
7. To pour out.^[2][1]

Word family

• redundantia
• redundātiō

Related words

• unda
• abundō
• inundō
• English redound
• English redundant

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
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. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de