transfugio

Forms

trānsfugiō (present infinitive trānsfugere, perfect active trānsfūgī, supine trānsfugitum); third (-iō variant) conjugation, no passive^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin trāns- (“across”) + fugiō (“to flee”).^[2][1] De Vaan traces fugiō to Proto-Italic *fug-i- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰug-i- (“to flee”).^[3] Cognate with Ancient Greek φεύγω (pheúgō, “to flee”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is in Cato's Origines: many men often deserted to the enemy at once.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to go over to the enemy or desert, also of changing sides in politics.^[2] Lewis & Short call it very rare and cite Livy, of men let down from the wall by ropes who deserted to the Romans in the night, as well as Nepos, Suetonius and Tacitus.^[4] With an accusative Statius uses it of escaping through something, as the winters of Euboea a sailor had often escaped in a small boat.^[2]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato of men deserting to the enemy.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of deserters let down from a wall.^[4][5]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius of escaping through storms.^[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To go over to the enemy, desert; to change sides.^[2][4][1]
2. With an accusative, to escape through; figuratively, to elude.^[2]

Word family

• trānsfuga
• transfugium

Related words

• fugiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de