scitor

Forms

scītor (present infinitive scītārī or scītārier, perfect active scītātus sum); first conjugation, deponent^[1] Ovid uses the old infinitive ⟨scītārier⟩.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin scīscō (“to seek to know”) + -tō, built on the stem ⟨scīt-⟩ of its participle.^[4][1] Lewis and Short derive it directly from sciō (“to know”), and de Vaan lists it among the derivatives of that verb, from Plautus on.^[2][5] He takes the verb to be probably a back-formation from nesciō (“not to know”); it goes back to Proto-Italic *skije/o- (“to know”), and perhaps to a root meaning “cut off, incise”, Proto-Indo-European *skh₁-i(e/o)-.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^[5] whose Captivi has sunt quae ex te solo scitari volo, “there are things I want to learn from you alone”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It means to seek to know, to inquire about something, often with ex or ab for the person asked.^[4][3] Lewis and Short call it poetic and late: in Cicero's Orator editors now read sciscitari instead.^[2][3] Virgil has scitari et quaerere causas, to inquire and seek the causes, and uses it of sending Eurypylus to consult the oracle of Phoebus;^[2][4] Horace has it with ex, and Ovid uses it often, of asking the cause of a journey or of a coming.^[2][6] With a person as object it means to question.^[4]

Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of consulting the decrees of the gods and of finding out what an enemy was planning.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of wanting to learn something from one person.^[2][6][7]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of consulting an oracle.^[4][2][7]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it often, once with the old infinitive ⟨scītārier⟩.^[2][7]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of finding out an enemy's plans.^[2][3][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To seek to know, inquire about (something), often with ex or ab and the person asked.^[4][2][3]
2. To question (a person); to consult (an oracle).^[4][8]

Word family

• scītātiō

Related words

• sciscitor

Usage notes

A separate noun scītor, scītōris, “one who knows, an expert”, formed from sciō, is found in Claudianus Mamertus.^[3][8][7] A British glossary uses it for one who inquires.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press