nuto Latin · revision 31745

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈnuː.toː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈnuː.to]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nūtō''' (present infinitive nūtāre, perfect active nūtāvī, supine nūtātum); first conjugation^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a frequentative verb in ⟨-tō⟩ to the simple verb ⟨*nuō⟩ “to nod”, which survives only in compounds such as [[abnuō]] and [[annuō]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(de Vaan 2008) That verb goes back to [[itc-pro|*nowō]] and [[ine-pro|*new-|t=to nod]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[grc|νεύω|tr=neúō|t=to nod, beckon]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) whose ''Asinaria'' forbids a woman to nod, wink or make signs to any man.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is to nod the head, as a sign of assent or command, and then to sink or bend, as branches under a weight in Ovid, or to sway, as Ennius' pines nodding their heads.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is used of things that rock or totter as if about to fall, as Virgil's ash tree, and of what falters or gives way.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it is to waver or be undecided, as Cicero's Epicurus on the nature of the gods;^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Tacitus uses it of a man wavering in allegiance between Vitellius and Vespasian.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Döderlein says that it describes tottering with reference to the head, while [[labō]] is used of the whole body, [[titubō]] of the feet and [[vacillō]] of the upper body.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “nod, command by sign; totter, be unstable, be unsettled”.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of nodding as a signal.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius of nodding pines.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of wavering in opinion.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus of wavering in allegiance.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|nod]] the head, as a signal; to command by a nod.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To bend, sink, droop; to [[m|en|sway]] to and fro.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|totter]], falter.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|waver]], hesitate; of a situation, to remain in doubt.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abnūtō]]

+ * [[adnūtō]]

+ * [[nūtābilis]]

+ * [[nūtābundus]]

+ * [[nūtāmen]]

+ * [[nūtātiō]]

+ * [[renūtō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nutus|alt=nūtus]]

+ * [[numen|alt=nūmen]]

+ * [[annuo|alt=annuō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}