pervello Latin · revision 34715

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=la vellō}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pervellō''' (present infinitive pervellere, perfect active pervellī); third conjugation^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|per-|vellō|t2=to pluck, pull]].^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) De Vaan reconstructs [[m|la|vellō]] as a nasal present of [[ine-pro|*uelh₃-|t=to strike]], though Schrijver prefers another preform.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLL quotes it first from a comedy of Naevius, ''alii pervellit pedem'' (“with another he pinches a foot”), where Scaliger read ''percellit'' instead.^(TLL) De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) whose ''Persa'' has ''ei, natis pervellit'', “ow, he pinches my buttocks”.^(TLL)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The literal sense is a sudden sharp pull or pinch.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Phaedrus has a countryman who tweaks a piglet's ear to make it squeal, and ''aurem pervellere'', “to pull someone's ear”, became a proverbial phrase for reminding someone, used by Seneca and Valerius Maximus.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ Figuratively it meant to stimulate the senses or the mind (Horace has radishes and lettuce that rouse a weary stomach),^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) to cause a sudden pang of pain, as in Cicero's ''Tusculan Disputations'',^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) and to criticize sharply: in Cicero's ''De oratore'' the orator “picks at” the civil law.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Seneca uses it of rousing a sluggish sense of gratitude, and Augustine of being troubled or distracted.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it of pinching, if the manuscripts' reading is right.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has it of pinching someone's buttocks.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a twinge of pain and of sharp criticism.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of food that stimulates the stomach.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the proverb ''aurem pervellere''.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of being troubled.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pull sharply, [[m|en|pinch]], nip, [[m|en|twitch]];^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) ''aurem pervellere'', to tweak someone's ear, to remind.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To [[m|en|stimulate]], rouse (the mind or senses).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To cause a sudden [[m|en|twinge]] of pain.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To [[m|en|criticize]] sharply, disparage.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}