restinguo

Forms

restinguō (present infinitive restinguere, perfect active restīnxī, supine restīnctum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + stinguō.^[2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨stinguō⟩ to Proto-Italic *ste-n-gw-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *stengw-e/o- (“to push, thrust”), with Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (stigqan, “to thrust”) as a likely cognate; following Klingenschmitt, he explains the compounds from a sense “to press, push”: ⟨restinguere⟩ “to push back, suppress”, exstinguō “to put out a fire”, distinguō “to push apart”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is Plautus' Casina: “they put out a fire with water”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It means “to put out, extinguish” a fire or light, to cool heated metal or slake lime (Pliny the Elder), and to quench thirst (Cicero).^[2][4] Figuratively it is to quell or suppress a feeling or activity, as Cicero says that Aristotle's learning did not stifle others' zeal, and to neutralize an effect, as Terence's single false little tear that will quench all those words.^[2] Cicero also uses it of minds and senses extinguished by death.^[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “extinguish, quench”.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of putting out a fire.^[2][6]
• 190–159 BC – Terence of a tear that quenches words.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of quenched thirst and of death.^[2][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of quenching bronze.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To put out, extinguish; to cool, slake; to quench thirst.^[2][4][1][5]
2. To quell, suppress; to neutralize; to allay.^[2][1]
3. To destroy, annihilate.^[2][1]

Word family

• irrestinctus
• restīnctiō

Related words

• stinguō
• exstinguō
• distinguō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 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. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de