percontor

Latin

Alternative forms

• percontō
• percūnctor

Etymology

Uncertain, suggestions include:

• from contus (“stick, pole; plummet”), as if "to probe, to feel the depth with a (long) pole";
• from cūnctor (this appears semantically unconvincing and more likely simply influenced by it, as in the Vulgar Latin derivative below, but compare Japanese 掛ける); (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)
• from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /perˈkon.tor/, [pɛrˈkɔn̪t̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /perˈkon.tor/, [perˈkɔn̪t̪or]

Verb

percontor (present infinitive percontārī or percontārier, perfect active percontātus sum); first conjugation, deponent

1. to inquire, investigate, interrogate, question strictly

   Synonyms: scīscitor, quaerō, scīscō, indāgō, requīrō, investīgō, interrogō, explōrō

Conjugation

Conjugation of percontor (first conjugation, deponent)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	percontor	percontāris, percontāre	percontātur	percontāmur	percontāminī	percontantur
	imperfect	percontābar	percontābāris, percontābāre	percontābātur	percontābāmur	percontābāminī	percontābantur
	future	percontābor	percontāberis, percontābere	percontābitur	percontābimur	percontābiminī	percontābuntur
	perfect	percontātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	percontātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	percontātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	perconter	percontēris, percontēre	percontētur	percontēmur	percontēminī	percontentur
	imperfect	percontārer	percontārēris, percontārēre	percontārētur	percontārēmur	percontārēminī	percontārentur
	perfect	percontātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	percontātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	percontāre	—	—	percontāminī	—
	future	—	percontātor	percontātor	—	—	percontantor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		percontārī, percontārier1	percontātum esse	percontātūrum esse	—	—	—
participles		percontāns	percontātus	percontātūrus	—	—	percontandus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		percontandī	percontandō	percontandum	percontandō	percontātum	percontātū

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

Derived terms

• percontatiō
• percontativus
• percontātor
• percontatorius
• percontātrīx

 

Descendants

• Old Sardinian: percontare, precontare, pregontare, pregontari
  • Logudorese: pregontari
• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *praecunctāre (see there for further descendants)
• →⇒ English: percontatorial

References

• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1985) “preguntar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume IV (Me–Re), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 635

Further reading

• “percontor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “percontor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• percontor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.