seligo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈseː.lɪ.ɡoː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsɛː.li.ɡo]^[1]

Forms

sēligō (present infinitive sēligere, perfect active sēlēgī, supine sēlēctum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from sē- (“apart”) and legō “to gather, choose”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Ennius, of weeding out.^[2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to weed out, as in Ennius, and to pick out, choose, select, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium and Cicero's orator who weighs and selects his commonplaces.^[2][5] Cicero has sēlēctae sententiae “chosen maxims” and sēlēctī iūdicēs “selected judges”.^[6] Lewis and Short call it rare but Classical.^[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to select, choose.^[7] English select comes from its participle sēlēctus in the 1560s, and English selection from sēlēctiō.^[3]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of weeding.^[2][4]
• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of selecting.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of chosen judges.^[6][4]
• 1560s – English select is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To weed out.^[2]
2. To pick out, choose, select.^[2]

Word family

• sēlēctiō
• sēlector

Related words

• legō
• ēligō
• English select
• English selection

References

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