video
Pronunciation
Forms
videō (present infinitive vidēre, perfect active vīdī, supine vīsum); second conjugation[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wid-ē- (“to see”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *uid-eh₁- (“to see”), a stative present of the root *weyd- (“to see, know”).[2][1] Wiktionary notes that the LIV takes the stative to be a more recent formation.[1] The perfect vīdī could continue either a root aorist or the old perfect that meant “knows”; because of its meaning “I saw”, the LIV and de Vaan prefer the aorist.[2][1] The present vīsō “to go and look” was a desiderative *weid-s-ō.[2]
Cognate with Umbrian uirseto (“seen”) and South Picene videtas,[2] and further with Ancient Greek εἶδον (eîdon, “I saw”), Sanskrit वेद (véda, “knows”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan, “to know”) and Old Irish ro·fitir (“knows”).[2][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus onwards.[2] In Plautus a slave cries attat! singulum vestigium video, “aha, I see a single footprint”.[3]
Semantic evolution
The verb meant to see with the eyes and to have the faculty of sight, as when Cato promises that an eye salve will make people “see better”.[3] It also meant to set eyes on, meet or visit someone, to see with the mind's eye, to witness an event, and to live to see or experience something.[3] Cicero used it for foreseeing, and for perceiving with understanding.[3]
From seeing came considering and taking care: vide ne “see that … not”, and to see to or provide something, as a dinner.[3] The passive videri meant to seem or be thought, in law to be deemed, and visum est “it seemed good”, that is, it was resolved.[3] It survives as Italian vedere, French voir and Romanian vedea, and English took view from French.[1][4]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for seeing.[3][5]
- 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of eyesight in his book on farming.[3][5]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for foreseeing and for understanding.[3][5]
- mid-14th century – English view is first recorded, from Anglo-French.[4]
- 1935 – English coins video from the Latin first person, “I see”.[4]
Meanings
Verb
- To see, perceive with the eyes; to have sight.[3][6]
- To set eyes on, meet, visit.[3]
- To see in the mind, imagine.[3]
- To witness; to live to see, experience.[3]
- To foresee.[3]
- To understand, perceive; to find out.[3][1]
- To consider, look at (a question).[3]
- To take care, see to it (that); to provide.[3]
- (passive) To seem, appear; to be thought.[3][1]
- (impersonal passive) To seem good, be resolved.[3]
Word family
- ēvidēns
- invideō
- pervideō
- praevideō
- prōvideō
- revideō
- vīsibilis
- vīsificus
- vīsiō
- vīsō
- vīsum
Related words
- vīsibilitās
- vīsibiliter
- vīsitātiō
- vīsitātor
- vīsitō
- vīsuālis
- vīsuālitās
- English view
- English video
- English vide
Usage notes
Döderlein distinguishes videre, seeing in general, from cernere, seeing clearly and distinctly, while spectare is fixing the eyes on something with interest.[7] The imperative vide “see” is used in English cross-references.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper