Etymologically
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secerno

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [seːˈkɛr.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [seˈt͡ʃɛr.no][1]

Forms

sēcernō (present infinitive sēcernere, perfect active sēcrēvī, supine sēcrētum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from sē- “apart” and cernō “to sift, distinguish”.[2][1][3] Lucretius has the old infinitive ⟨sēcernier⟩.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Ennius, of discarding what is unfit.[2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to separate off, remove from a group, as in Varro, and Cicero's sē ā bonīs sēcernere “to separate oneself from the good”, to cut off by a barrier, and to detach from an alliance.[2][5] It meant to set aside for a purpose, as in Livy, or as unfit, discard, as in Ennius.[2] From Cicero it meant to distinguish, treat as distinct, and to divide into parts.[2] Lewis and Short call it frequent and classical but absent from Caesar.[3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to separate, set apart, hide, distinguish, discern.[6] Its participle sēcrētus “set apart, hidden” and the noun sēcrētum gave English secret in the late 14th century, and English secrete in 1707 is a back-formation from secretion.[7]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of discarding.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of separating off.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of distinguishing.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – English secret is recorded, from sēcrētum.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To separate off; to cut off; to detach.[2]
  2. To set aside; to discard.[2]
  3. To distinguish, treat as distinct.[2]
  4. To divide into parts.[2]

Word family

  • sēcrētārium
  • sēcrētim
  • sēcrētiō
  • sēcrētārius
  • sēcrētē
  • sēcrētō
  • sēcrētum
  • sēcrētus

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com