reticeo

Forms

reticeō (present infinitive reticēre, perfect active reticuī); second conjugation, no supine stem, third person-only in the passive^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + taceō (“to be silent”).^[2][1] De Vaan derives ⟨taceō⟩ from Proto-Italic *tak-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *tHk-eh₁- (“to be silent”), cognate with Umbrian taçez (“silent”) and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þahan, “to keep silent”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's verb ⟨taceō⟩ is attested from Naevius;^[3] the OLD's earliest examples of ⟨reticeō⟩ are from Plautus, of a woman who keeps quiet when she sees something done wrong, and transitively: “whatever you do, I won't keep this quiet”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to keep silent, and with the dative to give no answer: in Livy a man said he would not keep silent before a private citizen.^[2] Pliny the Elder uses it of birds, a young nightingale and its teacher taking turns to sing and fall silent.^[2] Transitively it is to leave something unsaid, keep it secret, from Plautus and Cicero on.^[2]

Church Latin has it for be silent, keep secret, conceal.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of keeping silent and of keeping a secret.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy with the dative, “to give no reply”.^[2][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of nightingales.^[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To keep silent; of birds and instruments, to fall silent.^[2][6][1][4]
2. (with dative) To give no reply to.^[2][1]
3. (transitive) To leave unsaid, keep secret, conceal.^[2][1][4]

Word family

• reticentia

Related words

• conticeō
• conticesco
• obticeō
• taceō
• sileō

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes silēre, to be still, from tacēre, not to speak;^[7] reticēre is to keep to oneself what one has to say, the opposite of ēloquī, while obticēre is not to answer someone who asks.^[7]

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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper