Etymologically
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retego

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈrɛ.tɛ.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈrɛː.te.ɡo][1]

Forms

retegō (present infinitive retegere, perfect active retēxī, supine retēctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + tegō (“to cover”).[2][1] De Vaan traces tegō to Proto-Italic *teg-e/o- (“to cover”) and Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro warns that hard picking tools strip branches and leave them bare to the frost.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to uncover, strip or lay bare, and to expose part of the body, as Virgil's warrior laid bare by the loss of his shield.[2] It is to remove a lid or open: Cicero writes of a money box left unopened; the perfect participle means roofless, as Varro's threshing floor.[2][4] Pliny the Elder has dresses tucked up above the hips.[2] It is to make visible, as Propertius' rites of the goddess revealed to no man, and to make known or disclose, as Lucretius' nature laid open on every side.[2] Lewis & Short note that it is not frequent until after Augustus, with the synonyms nūdō and exuō.[4]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro of branches stripped bare.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of nature laid open.[2]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of opening a money box.[2][4]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of revealed rites.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To uncover, lay bare, expose; to open.[2][4][1]
  2. To make visible, reveal.[2][1]
  3. To make known, disclose.[2][1]

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 m 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 d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de