suffoco

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [sʊfˈfoː.koː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [sufˈfɔː.ko]^[1]

Forms

suffōcō (present infinitive suffōcāre, perfect active suffōcāvī, supine suffōcātum); first conjugation^[1] Also spelled subfōcō.^[2]

Etymology

It is from sub- and the stem ⟨fōc-⟩ of faucēs “throat”, with -ō.^[3][1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Cicero's Prō Mūrēnā.^[4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to choke, stifle, strangle, suffocate, by compressing the throat or depriving of air, as in Cicero and Seneca, and to drown, and Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.^[3][2][4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to choke, throttle, strangle.^[6] English suffocate (early 15th century) is from its participle suffōcātus.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[4][5]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.^[4][5]
• early 15th century – English suffocate is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To choke, strangle, suffocate.^[3][2]
2. To drown.^[3]

Word family

• suffocabilis
• suffōcātiō

Related words

• faucēs
• praefōcō
• English suffocate

References

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