contero Latin · revision 31526

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *terh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈkɔn.tɛ.roː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈkɔn.te.ro]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''conterō''' (present infinitive conterere, perfect active contrīvī or contriī, supine contrītum); third conjugation^(Wiktionary)

+ The perfect is ''contrīvī'', with ''contrieram'' in Cicero and ''conteruī'' in Apuleius.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[m|la|con-|t=together, thoroughly]] and [[terō|t=to rub]].^(OLD 2012) De Vaan derives ⟨terō⟩ from [[itc-pro|*tera-]] and [[ine-pro|*terh₁-|t=to rub]], with an old present ⟨*treh₁-i-⟩ behind the ⟨ī⟩ of the perfect ⟨trīvī⟩; cognates are [[grc|τείρω|tr=teírō|t=to distress, wear out]], [[grc|τρίβω|tr=tríbō|t=to rub, wear out]] and [[ru|тереть|tr=terétʹ|t=to rub]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The OLD's earliest quotations are in Plautus, as a slave's “you have easily worn out three ox-hides on my back”;^(OLD 2012) Cato uses it of grinding ingredients for a remedy.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its literal sense is to pound, crush or grind, common in medical language.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is also to wear out or rub away by use, by hyperbole to wear out a prison floor by pacing it, and figuratively to trample on or treat with contempt, as Plautus' “don't trample on us so contemptuously”.^(OLD 2012) Of people it is to exhaust or weary, as “you wear me out with your talk, woman”.^(OLD 2012) Above all it is to use up time, effort or resources, often to no profit, as Plautus' “I have wasted the day standing by as a witness”, and to exhaust a topic; the participle ''contrītus'' is trite or hackneyed.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “crush, break to pieces, grind, bruise”.^(Stelten 1995) From its participle comes English ''contrite'', first around 1300, after the Late Latin sense “penitent”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a back worn out by beatings and of a wasted day.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato of grinding a remedy.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of topics already exhausted.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 1300 – English [[m|en|contrite]], from the participle.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pound to pieces, [[m|en|crush]], [[m|en|grind]], bruise.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # To wear out or rub away by use.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To trample on, treat with contempt.^(OLD 2012)

+ # To exhaust, weary.^(OLD 2012)

+ # To spend or waste time, effort or resources; to exhaust a topic.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[contrītiō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[terō]]

+ * [[atterō]]

+ * [[trītus]]

+ * [[en|contrite]]

+ * [[en|contrition]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}