Etymologically
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supprimo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsʊp.prɪ.moː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsup.pri.mo][1]

Forms

supprimō (present infinitive supprimere, perfect active suppressī, supine suppressum); third conjugation[1] It is also spelled subprimō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin sub- + premō (“to press”).[2][1] De Vaan derives ⟨premō⟩ from Proto-Italic *pres- and Proto-Indo-European *pr-es- (“to press”), perhaps an ⟨s⟩-present to a root meaning “to hit”, which he calls guesswork; he compares Lithuanian per̃ti (“to beat, lash”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it in the sense of stopping an activity: someone will perish “unless you stop your foolish talk”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to press down or under, and in Livy especially to sink ships.[2][3] More often it is to check or hold back: in Caesar a pursuing enemy is checked and forced to turn back, and Propertius says the stone itself would stop Niobe's tears.[2] It is also to stifle the voice or feelings, as Ovid's voice cut off in mid-sound.[2] Cicero uses it of keeping back money due to others, and later writers of detaining a person, withholding a document or suppressing news, as Curtius' letter kept back from the king.[2]

Church Latin has it for detain, hold down, sink, check, stop, keep secret.[5] English suppress (late 14th century) is from its participle suppressus.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of stopping foolish talk.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of withholding money.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of checking an enemy.[2][7]
  • 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy of sinking ships.[2][3][7]
  • late 14th century – English suppress.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To press down or under; to sink a ship; to humble oneself.[2][3][1][5]
  2. To check, hold back, stop; to stanch a flow.[2][1][5]
  3. To stifle the voice; to suppress feelings.[2][1]
  4. To keep back money or goods; to detain a person.[2][1]
  5. To withhold a document or news, keep secret.[2][5]

Word family

  • suppressiō
  • suppressor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ 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 c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de