vagio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈwaː.ɡi.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvaː.d͡ʒi.o]^[1]

Forms

vāgiō (present infinitive vāgīre, perfect active vāgīvī); fourth conjugation, no passive, no supine stem^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2] The OLD calls it imitative and compares Ancient Greek ἠχή (ēkhḗ, “sound”).^[3] De Vaan notes that Sanskrit वग्नु (vagnú, “sound, call”) may have *g but is derived from another root, and that Lithuanian vógrauti (“to weep”) is also compared, while Greek Ancient Greek ἴαχε (íakhe, “shouted”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍅𐍉𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaswōgjan, “to sigh”) have a consonant that does not match.^[2] A solution would be a root Proto-Indo-European *weh₂- (“to cry”) with different enlargements.^[2][1] Varro thought the word imitated the sound of a newborn's voice.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius, who has a cry resounding to the sky.^[2][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to cry or wail, of babies, as Cicero's vāgīre of a newborn, and of young goats and hares, as in Martial and Suetonius.^[3][6] In Ennius a cry itself resounds.^[3] From it came vāgītus “wailing” and vāgor “loud crying”.^[2]

It survives in French and Portuguese vagir and Italian vagire, and English vagient is borrowed from it.^[1]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a cry.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a newborn.^[6][5]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of a kid.^[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (of babies) To cry, wail.^[3]
2. (of young goats, hares) To cry.^[3]
3. (of a cry) To resound.^[3]

Related words

• vāgītus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.