Etymologically
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torpeo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtɔr.pe.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɔr.pe.o][1]

Forms

torpeō (present infinitive torpēre, perfect active torpuī); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *torpē- (“to be stiff”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥p-éh₁- (“to be stiff”), a stative verb.[2][1] Cognate with Lithuanian tir̃pti (“to grow numb”), Old Church Slavonic трьпѣти (trъpěti, “to suffer”) and Old English þeorf (“unleavened”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, where Sosia says “I am afraid, I am numb all over”.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to be physically numb, as stags numbed under fresh snow in Virgil or bodies stiff with cold in Livy, and to be struck motionless by fear or wonder.[3] It was also to be sluggish or lethargic and, figuratively, inactive or slothful, as Cicero says of a god who rests idle.[3]

Its derivatives gave English words: torpor “numbness” gave English torpor, torpidus gave English torpid in the 1610s, and torpēdō “numbness”, then the electric ray that numbs, gave English torpedo in the 1520s.[5] The verb survives in Italian torpere.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has Sosia numb with fear.[3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil describes stags numbed under snow.[3][4]
  • 1520s – English torpedo is recorded for the electric ray.[5]
  • 1610s – English torpid is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be numb.[3]
  2. To be paralysed (with fear or wonder).[3]
  3. To be sluggish, lethargic.[3]
  4. To be inactive, idle.[3]

Word family

  • torpēdō
  • torpefaciō
  • torpidus
  • torpor
  • torpēscō
  • obtorpeō
  • torpōrō
  • English torpor
  • English torpid
  • English torpedo

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com