tergeo
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *tergēō, of uncertain further origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terǵʰ- (“crush”), whence Sanskrit तृह् (tṛh, “to crush, bruise”).[1] Alternative theories take the Italic root as an extension of *terh₁- (“to rub”) (whence terō).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈtɛr.ɡe.oː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈt̪ɛr.d͡ʒe.o]
Verb
tergeō (present infinitive tergēre, perfect active tersī, supine tersum); second conjugation
- (transitive) to rub, wipe, wipe off, clean, cleanse
- (transitive) to polish, burnish
- (transitive) to tickle, whet
- (figuratively, transitive) to molest, harass
- (figuratively, transitive) to expiate the murder
Conjugation
- In surviving Classical sources, the passive voice is limited to the third-person forms.
Conjugation of tergeō (second conjugation)
Derived terms
References
- “tergeo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- tergeo in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
- “tergeo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- tergeo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 1071
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 614