tuto

Forms

tūtō (comparative tūtius, superlative tūtissimē or tūtissimō)^[1] The superlative is tūtissimē or, in Cicero and Pliny the Elder, tūtissimō.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from tūtus (“safe”) with the adverbial suffix -ō; compare tūtē.^[2][1] De Vaan explains ⟨tūtus⟩ as the old past participle of ⟨tuor⟩, tueor (“to watch over, protect”), from Proto-Italic *towē- (“to protect”), and compares Sanskrit तवस् (tavás-, “strong”); the Proto-Indo-European form is uncertain.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author,^[4] who tells Catiline that he “cannot in any way be safe within the same walls” as him.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is “without risk of harm, safely, securely”, and tūtō esse is to be in safety somewhere, as in Cicero's speeches and Sallust.^[2]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero to Catiline.^[2][4]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust has tūtō esse.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Safely, securely, without danger;^[2][1] tūtō esse, to be safe.^[2][1]

Related words

• tūtus
• tueor
• tūtor
• sēcūrē

Usage notes

Tūtō is also a rare first-conjugation verb, a variant of the deponent tūtor, “to protect”.^[2][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de