pertracto Latin · revision 34373

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pertractō''' (present infinitive pertractāre, perfect active pertractāvī, supine pertractātum); first conjugation^(Wiktionary)

+ The spelling ''pertrectō'' is also transmitted, for instance in manuscripts of Apuleius.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|per-|tractō|t2=to drag about, handle]].^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan explains [[m|la|tractō]] as formed from [[m|la|tractus]], the past participle of [[m|la|trahō|t=to draw, drag]], which goes back to [[itc-pro|*traχe/o-]]; he finds its closest cognates in Celtic.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus on,^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) in the sense of stroking or fingering something all over: in the ''Asinaria'' the phrase is ''si papillam pertractavit'', “if he has fondled a breast”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From physical handling the verb passed to the mind: Cicero uses it of an orator who works upon the feelings and minds of his hearers, and of examining an opponent’s narrative carefully and in detail.^(OLD 2012) In the ''De finibus'' he speaks of sounding out someone’s mind with every kind of reflection, and it came to mean studying or treating a subject thoroughly.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010) Ecclesiastical Latin kept the senses of handling, treating, busying oneself with and investigating.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of fondling.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of working upon the minds of an audience and of examining a narrative in detail.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of feeling a person’s hand, as a physician does.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|stroke]] or [[m|en|finger]] all over, to feel, [[m|en|handle]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To work upon (the mind or feelings).^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+ # To [[m|en|examine]] in detail, study carefully, treat thoroughly.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pertractātiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}