voluto

Forms

volūtō (present infinitive volūtāre, perfect active volūtāvī, supine volūtātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative verb from Latin volvō (“to roll”) + -tō.^[2][1] The verb volvō goes back to Proto-Italic *weluō and Proto-Indo-European *wel-u- (“to wind”).^[3] Cognate with Ancient Greek εἰλύω (eilúō, “to wind round”) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (walwjan).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first example in the OLD is figurative, Plautus' “the more I turn this matter over in my heart”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Literally it is to roll something forward, as Propertius' Sisyphus rolling his burden up the mountain, and to make something toss or eddy, as the wind rolling the sea.^[2][4] In the passive or reflexive it is to roll about on the ground, and in Cicero to wallow in debauchery; figuratively to be immersed in something.^[2] From Plautus on it is also to turn something over in one's mind or talk it over, and Livy has volutare animum, to exercise the mind.^[2][4]

Church Latin glosses it “roll, tumble, wallow, revolve in the mind”.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of turning something over in the mind.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of souls rolling about the earth and of wallowing.^[2][6]
• 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of Sisyphus' burden.^[2][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of exercising the mind.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To roll, turn, tumble about; to toss.^[2][4][1]
2. Passive or reflexive, to roll about; to wallow.^[2][4][1]
3. To turn over in the mind, ponder; to talk over.^[2][4][1]

Word family

• volūtābrum
• volūtābundus
• volūtātiō
• volūtātus

Related words

• volvō

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 j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b 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 d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de