Etymologically
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resilio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [rɛˈsɪ.li.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [reˈs̬iː.li.o][1]

Forms

resiliō (present infinitive resilīre, perfect active resiluī, supine resultum); fourth conjugation, impersonal in the passive[1]

Etymology

It is from re- (“back”) and saliō “to leap”, with the vowel weakened to ⟨i⟩.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are from Lucretius, of recoiling and rebounding.[2] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to jump or spring back, as in Livy, and in law to withdraw from a transaction, as in Ulpian.[2] It meant to recoil in horror, shrink from an idea, as in Lucretius, of things to bounce back, rebound, to spring back under tension, and in Ovid to shrink back to a smaller size.[2] Lewis and Short call it rare but Classical, and Claudius Quadrigarius has the perfect resiliit.[5]

French résilier comes from it.[1] English resile was borrowed in the 1520s, and English resilience comes from its participle in the 1620s.[3] Its frequentative resultō “to rebound” is the source of English result.[3]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of rebounding.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of springing back.[2][4]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of withdrawing from a deal.[2][4]
  • 1620s – English resilience is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To spring back, jump back.[2]
  2. To withdraw (from a transaction).[2]
  3. To recoil, shrink (from).[2]
  4. To rebound, bounce back.[2]
  5. To shrink back (in size).[2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press