succumbo

Forms

succumbō (present infinitive succumbere, perfect active succubuī, supine succubitum); third conjugation^[1] It is also spelled subc-.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin sub- + cumbō (“to lie down”), with the nasal present ⟨-cumbō⟩ of cubō (“to lie”) that is also found in accumbō.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first examples are in Catullus, of a victim sinking under the two-edged blade, and in Lucretius, of stones that could not all sink equally.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that the literal sense, to sink down, is rare and not found in Cicero.^[3] It is used of sinking to the ground under a blow, of collapsing under a weight or under strain, as in Caesar, who urges his men not to give in to their labours, and of giving way to a physical force.^[2] Of a woman it is to lie down with a man, as in Varro's account of girls allowed to lie with whom they wished before marriage, and Propertius uses it of a bull lowering its neck to the plough.^[2] Figuratively it is to be defeated, as in Nepos' “Asia yielded to Europe”, to yield to persuasion, as in Ovid, and to submit to circumstances, as Cicero's “I give in to that charge of yours, Laterensis”.^[2] Hyginus uses it of Callisto taking Juno's place in her husband's bed.^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “fall down, be overcome, surrender, yield, submit”.^[4]

Timeline

• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a sacrificial victim.^[2][5]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of stones sinking under a weight.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of yielding to a charge.^[2][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar of giving in to toil.^[2][5]
• c. 100–24 BC – Nepos of Asia yielding to Europe.^[2][5]
• late 15th century – Borrowed into English as succumb, partly through Old French.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sink down, collapse, break down under a weight or strain.^[2][3][1]
2. Of a woman, to lie with a man; of an animal, to lower itself under a load.^[2][3]
3. To be defeated, yield, give in, submit.^[2][3][1]
4. To take a wife's place in a husband's bed.^[2]

Related words

• cubō
• English succumb

References

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