Etymologically
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visito

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwiː.sɪ.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈviː.s̬i.to][1]

Forms

vīsitō (present infinitive vīsitāre, perfect active vīsitāvī, supine vīsitātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative of vīsō “to go to see”, from videō “to see”, with the suffix -itō.[2][3][1] Vīsō continues Proto-Italic *weidsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wéydseti, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it in the sense of seeing someone often: in the Persa a character says “you were dead to me, since I never saw you”.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that the sense “to see” is ante- and post-classical, and Vitruvius used visitata of visible signs.[3][5] From Cicero on it meant to visit, to call on a person, and Suetonius uses it of visiting the sick.[2][5] Ambrose uses it of inspecting.[5][6]

In the Vulgate and church writers God visits people, to afflict or punish them.[6][1] English visit is recorded in the early 13th century, often of God coming to see.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it to mean to see often.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of calling on someone.[2][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of God afflicting people.[6][4]
  • early 13th century – English visit is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To see often or habitually.[2][3]
  2. To visit, call on a person.[2][6]
  3. (Late Latin) To inspect.[5][6]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Of God, to afflict, punish.[6][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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com