Etymologically
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reor

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈre.ɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈrɛː.or][1]

Forms

reor (present infinitive rērī, perfect active ratus sum); second conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *rē-(je/o-) (“to think”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁-.[2] The original meaning was “to count”, still seen in the participle ratus “counted, fixed, legal” and in the phrase “pro rata parte”, “in proportion”.[2] The noun ratiō “calculation, reason” was derived from ratus.[2][3] Schrijver traces the root to Proto-Indo-European *h₂r- (“to fix”), and Wiktionary to Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit together”).[2][1] The OLD and Lewis and Short call its origin doubtful.[4][5]

Cognate with Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌾𐍉 (raþjō, “number, account”) and Old High German redea (“account”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards,[2] as in Amphitryon's “don't you think I'm expected by my lady?”.[4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short, Gaffiot and the TLL take “to reckon, calculate” as its first sense, from which came “to think, believe, suppose”.[5][6][3] In Classical Latin it meant only to hold an opinion, and it was used mostly by poets and in elevated prose.[4][7] Döderlein counts it, with opinari and putare, among the verbs for a private opinion rather than a judgment given with authority.[8]

It was a deponent, and the present participle and future are not found.[3] English rate and reason come from its derivatives ratus and ratio.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the sense “to suppose”.[4][10]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in the sense “to think”.[6][10]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil writes ut potius reor, “as I rather think”.[6][10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To reckon, calculate.[5][1]
  2. To think, believe, suppose, deem.[4][1]

Word family

  • ratihabeō
  • ratiō
  • ratiōcinor
  • ratō
  • ratus
  • ratiōcinābiliter
  • ratiōcinātiō
  • ratiōcinātīvus
  • ratiōcinātor
  • ratiōcinium
  • ratiōnābilis
  • ratiōnābilitās
  • ratiōnābiliter
  • ratiōnālis
  • ratiōnālitās
  • English rate
  • English reason

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes reri, putare and opinari, a private opinion, from censere and iudicare, judgments given with authority.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de