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-cinor

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Latin

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Etymology

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From canō, canere (to sing; to recite; to foretell, predict, prophesy), with vowel weakening in the unstressed syllable and a change to first-conjugation inflectional endings.

The line between suffixes and compounds in Latin is not always clear: some verbs ending in -cinor may be considered to be compounds, but in latrōcinor (to be a mercenary soldier, to commit highway robbery), the original meaning of canō is so weakened that -cinor seems to be no more than a suffix.[1]

According to de Vaan, Leumann 1977: 551 follows Ernout in considering the class of verbs ending in -cinor to have arisen by analogical extension from vāticinor (to prophesy, foretell), which is assumed to be a denominal verb derived from a compound noun vāticinium.[2] Compare also the attested nouns latrōcinium, lenōcinium, ratiōcinium, where according to Chase (1900) "the unexplained -cinium seems to have sunk to the force of a suffix".[3]

Alternatively, Chase (1901) and Cocchia (1917) argue that forms in -ōcin- may derive from original -ōnic- (from stems in -ōn- + -icus) by metathesis, aided by analogy with vāticinor.[4][5] Forms in -ōnic- are the source of some Romance derivatives such as ladroneccio, but those forms are usually considered to be the result of, rather than the input to, a process of metathesis.

Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-cinor (present infinitive -cinārī or -cinārier); first conjugation, deponent

  1. suffix used to form verbs from nouns[6]

Conjugation

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1The present passive infinitive in -ier is a rare poetic form which is attested.

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Fay, E. W. (1904) "Studies of Latin Words in -cinio-, -cinia-. II. -cinium, 'Calling,' a Partially Developed Latin Suffix." The Classical Review, 18(7), 349–351. http://www.jstor.org/stable/694609, page 350
  2. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “canō”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 88
  3. ^ Chase, George D. (1900) "The Form of Nominal Compounds in Latin," Harvard Studies in Classical Philology Vol. 11, pp. 61-72, page 70
  4. ^ Chase, George D. (1901) "Latin Verbs in -cinari," (abstract), Transactions and proceedings of the American Philological Association Vol. 32, pages lxxiii-lxxiv
  5. ^ Cocchia, Enrico (1917) "Nuova Serie di Note Glottologiche, Parte Seconda, Il ritmo del discorso studiato in rapporto col fenomeno della distrazione omerica, della legge di posizione e della evoluzione dei suoni" in Rendiconti della Accademia di archeologia, lettere e belle arti, Volume 5; pp 151-216. page 214 [64 of 66]
  6. ^ White, John Tahourdin (1858) Latin Suffixes, page 134