specio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈspɛ.ki.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈspɛː.t͡ʃi.o]^[1]

Forms

speciō (present infinitive specere, perfect active spexī, supine spectum); third (-iō variant) conjugation^[1] It is also spelled spiciō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *spekje/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”).^[4] Cognate with Umbrian speture and further with Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “sees”), Avestan spasiia- (“to perceive”), Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look at”) (with the consonants swapped) and Old High German spehōn (“to spy”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it.^[4][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It was an old word, used by Plautus, Ennius and Cato, for “to see, look at”.^[5][2] Festus notes that the old writers used the simple verb where later Latin said aspiciō.^[3] The Oxford Latin Dictionary gives senses “to watch over” and “to observe omens” that may only be inferred from compounds such as haruspex.^[2]

Its family stayed productive: speculum “mirror”, speciēs “appearance” and specimen, and the compounds cōnspiciō, respiciō and īnspiciō.^[4][7] English species and respect come from them.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[4][6]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a king looking down from the rocks.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – English species and respect are recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Old Latin) To see, look at, observe.^[2][3]
2. To watch over; to observe omens (perhaps only inferred from compounds).^[2]

Word family

• aspiciō
• circumspiciō
• cōnspiciō
• dēspiciō
• dispiciō
• īnspiciō
• intrōspiciō
• perspiciō
• praespiciō
• prōspiciō
• respiciō
• specula

Related words

• avis
• haruspex
• speciēs
• speculum
• spectō
• English species
• English respect

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com