Etymologically
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tergiversor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tɛr.ɡɪˈwɛr.sɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ter.d͡ʒiˈvɛr.sor][1]

Forms

tergiversor (present infinitive tergiversārī, perfect active tergiversātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of tergum (“back”) and versō (“to turn”), “to turn one's back”.[2][1][3] De Vaan finds the origin of tergum unclear.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Cicero, for whom it was a favourite word;[5] in the speech for Plancius he asks: quid taces? quid dissimulas? quid tergiversaris?, “why are you silent, why do you dissemble, why do you evade?”[5]

Semantic evolution

It means to turn one's back on a task or challenge, to show reluctance, especially by evasion or equivocation, to hang back.[2] Cicero uses it of hesitating and shuffling, of a man wavering and dodging a trial, and of someone twisting this way and that.[5] Lewis & Short find it otherwise rare.[5] English tergiversate, to practise evasion and later to desert one's party, dates from the 1650s.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of evasion and hesitation.[5]
  • 1650s – English tergiversate.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To turn one's back; to hang back, show reluctance.[2][5]
  2. To seek an evasion, equivocate, tergiversate.[2][5][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press