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vegeto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word vegeto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
4 BC–65 AD, Seneca
Ultimate origin
Latin vegeō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vegeo
Latin vegetus
Latin vegeto

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈwɛ.ɡɛ.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈvɛː.d͡ʒe.to][1]

Forms

vegetō (present infinitive vegetāre, perfect active vegetāvī, supine vegetātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vegetus (“lively, vigorous”), with the verb ending -ō.[2][3][1] That adjective is formed from vegeō (“to rouse, quicken”),[4] which goes back to Proto-Italic *weg-eje/o-.[4] Etymonline traces the family to Proto-Indo-European *weg- (“to be strong, be lively”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca (4 BC–65 AD) is the first to use it:[4][6] Liber was called the inventor of wine because wine frees the mind from the slavery of cares and invigorates it.[2]

Semantic evolution

Gellius uses it of keeping the memory fresh, and Apuleius of the divine spirit that quickens all living things.[2][3] Lewis & Short call it post-classical.[3] Christian writers use it of the soul giving life to the body: Prudentius of the soul that animated Adam, and the Vulgate has anima carnem vegetat, “the soul quickens the flesh”.[3] Vegetius says the sea is stirred by its own breath as well as by the winds.[7]

The Late Latin adjective vegetābilis “animating”, in Medieval Latin “growing”, gave English vegetable, and the participle vegetātus lies behind vegetate (about 1600).[5]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of wine invigorating the mind.[2][4][6]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of the divine spirit quickening living things.[2][3][6]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of refreshing the memory.[2][6]
  • 348/49–c. 413 AD – Prudentius uses it of the soul animating Adam.[3][6]
  • c. 1600 – English vegetate.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To invigorate, enliven, give energy to.[2][3][1]
  2. To animate, quicken, give life to (of the soul or the divine spirit).[3][7]
  3. To keep fresh or in training (the memory, a boxer's arms).[2]

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 c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
Cite this entry

“Vegeto.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vegeto. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·