Etymologically
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spero

Etymology and origin of the Latin word spero

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (spēs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈspeː.roː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈspɛː.ro][1]

Forms

spērō (present infinitive spērāre, perfect active spērāvī, supine spērātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Old Latin *spēsō, from spēs “hope” with the verb suffix -ō.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of placing one's hopes in a person and of hoping that.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to hope for something desired, as in Terence, to put one's hopes in a person, and to hope that or hope to do something, all from Plautus onwards.[2] Nōn spērō meant “I hope not”, bene spērāre to have good hopes, as Cicero's dē rē pūblicā bene spērāre.[2][4] Lewis and Short note that hoping for something desirable is its predominant sense, but in Virgil and others it also meant to expect or apprehend something bad.[5][2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to hope, trust, expect, look forward to.[6] It survives in Italian sperare and French, Spanish and Portuguese espérer, esperar, and English sperate “likely to be recovered” is a legal term of the 1550s from its participle.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of hoping.[2][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of hoping for something.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses bene spērāre.[4][3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of apprehending.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To hope for; to put one's hopes in.[2]
  2. To hope that, hope to.[2]
  3. nōn spērō, I hope not.[2]
  4. To have hopes, bene spērāre, to be hopeful.[2]
  5. To expect, apprehend.[2]

Word family

  • dēspērō
  • īnspērāns
  • īnspērātus
  • praespero
  • spērābilis
  • spērātrix
  • superspērō

References

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

“Spero.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/spero. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·