suffigo Latin · revision 34198

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=la fīgō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [sʊfˈfiː.ɡoː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [sufˈfiː.ɡo]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''suffīgō''' (present infinitive suffīgere, perfect active suffīxī, supine suffīxum); third conjugation^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|sub-|fīgō|t1=under|t2=to fix, fasten]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Bianchi & Lelli 2014) De Vaan traces the simple verb to [[ine-pro|*dheigw-e/o-]] or [[ine-pro|*dhiHgw-e/o-]]; the old forms ⟨fīvere⟩ and ⟨offīvēbant⟩ keep the regular outcome of /gʷ/ between vowels, while the ⟨g⟩ of the present was taken over from the perfect.^(de Vaan 2008) He compares [[lt|díegti|t=to plant, sting]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus has it in the ''Miles Gloriosus'': ''columnam mento suffigit suo'', “he props a column under his chin”, of a man resting his chin on his hand.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense is to fix something underneath as a [[m|en|support]], or to fasten it to something lying above; with an ablative it means to furnish a thing with something fixed underneath, as in Seneca's beams not covered with gold.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) Catullus speaks of a door fixed to a beam,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010) and Pliny the Elder of slippers fitted with golden nails.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ It also means to attach to the top of something, to fix aloft: Lucan has sails fastened to the top of the yard, and Suetonius a head stuck on a spear.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Georges 1913) With ''cruci'' or ''in cruce'' it is to fasten to a cross, to [[m|en|crucify]], as in Cicero, Horace and later authors.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Apuleius has ''cubito suffixo'', leaning on one's elbow.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ Its participle ''suffixus'' passed, as Vulgar Latin ''*suffictus'' “fastened below”, into Italian [[m|it|soffitto|t=ceiling]], the source of English [[m|en|soffit]] (1610s).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has ''columnam mento suffigit suo''.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of fastening to a cross.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus speaks of a door fixed to a beam.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of beams fitted with gold and of fresh goads to grief.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius has a head fixed on a spear.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1610s – English [[m|en|soffit]] comes from Italian, from Latin ''suffixus''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fix beneath as a [[m|en|prop|alt=support]]; to fasten to something lying above.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)

+ # (with ablative) To furnish (something) with a thing fixed underneath.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+ # To insert (something sharp) underneath.^(OLD 2012)

+ # To [[m|en|attach]] to the top of, fix aloft; to stick (a head) on a spear.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''cruci'' or ''in cruce suffigere'': to fasten to a cross, to [[m|en|crucify]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fīgō]]

+ * [[en|soffit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}