inquam

Latin

Alternative forms

inquiō (Late Latin)

Etymology

Not entirely clear. Possibly from Old Latin *insquom, compare īnsece and īnseque (“say!”, imperative). From Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-t, the *h₁en-prefixed form of the aorist stem of Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”) that has been thematicized in both Latin and Ancient Greek ἐνέπω (enépō, “to tell”).^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɪŋ.kʷãː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiŋ.kʷam]

Verb

inquam (perfect active inquiī); irregular conjugation, highly defective, no infinitive, no gerund

to say
Synonyms: aio, for, dīcō, loquor, alloquor, effor, oro
- c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 3.4.572–573:
  Tun' te Philocratem esse ais? — Ego, inquam.
  So, you claim to be Philocrates, you say? — I certainly say that.
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 7.20:
  "Haec ut intellegatis," inquit, "a me sincere pronuntiari, audite Romanos milites"
  "In order that you may be assured," he said, "that I sincerely announce these things, listen to the Roman soldiers!"

Usage notes

Used to introduce a quotation, platitude, or logical argument.

Conjugation

This verb is largely conjugated as if it were *inquiō (3rd conjugation) in present tenses and *inquō (also 3rd conjugation) in perfect tenses. However, there is an unusual first person singular present form inquam (cf. the athematic verb sum). This form is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-m̥, the 1st person singular indicative of the aorist stem Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-t.

Conjugation of inquam (irregular conjugation, highly defective, no infinitive, no gerund)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	inquam	inquis		inquit	inquimus	inquitis		inquiunt
	imperfect	—	—		inquiēbat	—	—		—
	future	—	inquiēs		inquiet	—	—		inquient¹
	perfect	inquiī	inquistī		inquit	—	—		—
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	inquiās¹		inquiat	—	—		inquiant¹
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	inque		—	—	—		—
active	future	—	inquitō		inquitō	—	—		—
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		—		—		inquiēns		—

¹Medieval Latin.

References

^ Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “2.*sek^u̯- ‘sagen’”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, page 526f.
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “īnsece / inquam ‘to say’ [v. irr.]”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 304