reverso

Forms

reversō (present infinitive reversāre, perfect active reversāvī, supine reversātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

Found only in Late Latin, it is from Latin re- + versō (“to turn often, turn about”).^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Late Latin, first in Augustine's Confessions, in the phrase versa et reversa, “turned this way and turned back”, meaning to turn round.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Vulgate uses it of bread that is not turned over, and Isidore of Seville of ash-baked bread that is turned in the ashes.^[2] Vegetius has it as a middle verb, and the passive participle means turned back.^[2]

It lived on in the Romance languages: Italian rovesciare and riversare, Romanian revărsa, Spanish rebosar, Catalan revessar and Portuguese revessar.^[1]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine writes versa et reversa in the Confessions.^[2][3]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of bread left unturned.^[2][3]
• c. 400 AD – Vegetius uses it as a middle verb.^[2][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it of bread turned in the ashes.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Late Latin) To turn back, turn round.^[1][2]
2. (Late Latin) To turn over, invert.^[1][2]

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