incipio

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Italic *en

Proto-Italic *en-

Latin in-

substratebor.?

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti

Proto-Italic *kapjō

Old Latin kapiō

Latin capiō

Latin incipiō

From in- + capiō (“to seize upon”, “to lay hold of”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɪŋˈkɪ.pi.oː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [in̠ʲˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o]

Verb

incipiō (present infinitive incipere, perfect active incēpī, supine inceptum); third (-iō variant) conjugation

1. to begin, to commence

   Synonyms: incohō, exōrdior, occipiō, coepiō, ōrdior, initiō, ineō, ingredior, aggredior, sūmō, moveō, committō, exorior, mōlior

   Antonyms: dēsistō, subsistō, cessō

   • c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.1.5:

     Tū tamen malō servēs tua, et bonō tempore incipiēs.

     [As for] you, however, I would rather you safeguard [your time], and [now is] the optimal moment for you to begin.
     (In other words, it is never too late to appreciate the value of a lifetime.)

Conjugation

   Conjugation of incipiō (third (-iō variant) conjugation)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	incipiō		incipis		incipit		incipimus		incipitis		incipiunt
	imperfect	incipiēbam		incipiēbās		incipiēbat		incipiēbāmus		incipiēbātis		incipiēbant
	future	incipiam		incipiēs		incipiet		incipiēmus		incipiētis		incipient
	perfect	incēpī		incēpistī		incēpit		incēpimus		incēpistis		incēpērunt, incēpēre
	pluperfect	incēperam		incēperās		incēperat		incēperāmus		incēperātis		incēperant
	future perfect	incēperō		incēperis		incēperit		incēperimus		incēperitis		incēperint
passive	present	incipior		inciperis, incipere		incipitur		incipimur		incipiminī		incipiuntur
	imperfect	incipiēbar		incipiēbāris, incipiēbāre		incipiēbātur		incipiēbāmur		incipiēbāminī		incipiēbantur
	future	incipiar		incipiēris, incipiēre		incipiētur		incipiēmur		incipiēminī		incipientur
	perfect	inceptus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	inceptus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	inceptus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	incipiam		incipiās		incipiat		incipiāmus		incipiātis		incipiant
	imperfect	inciperem		inciperēs		inciperet		inciperēmus		inciperētis		inciperent
	perfect	incēperim		incēperīs		incēperit		incēperīmus		incēperītis		incēperint
	pluperfect	incēpissem		incēpissēs		incēpisset		incēpissēmus		incēpissētis		incēpissent
passive	present	incipiar		incipiāris, incipiāre		incipiātur		incipiāmur		incipiāminī		incipiantur
	imperfect	inciperer		inciperēris, inciperēre		inciperētur		inciperēmur		inciperēminī		inciperentur
	perfect	inceptus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	inceptus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		incipe		—		—		incipite		—
	future	—		incipitō		incipitō		—		incipitōte		incipiuntō
passive	present	—		incipere		—		—		incipiminī		—
	future	—		incipitor		incipitor		—		—		incipiuntor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		incipere			incipī			incipiēns			—
future		inceptūrum esse			inceptum īrī			inceptūrus			incipiendus, incipiundus
perfect		incēpisse			inceptum esse			—			inceptus
future perfect		—			inceptum fore			—			—
perfect potential		inceptūrum fuisse			—			—			—
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		incipiendī		incipiendō		incipiendum		incipiendō		inceptum		inceptū

Derived terms

• inceptiō
• inceptīvus
• inceptō
• inceptor
• inceptum
• inceptus
• incipiens
• incipissō

Descendants

• Balkano-Romance:
  • Aromanian: ntsep, ntseapiri
  • Romanian: începe, începere
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Romansh: entschaiver, entscheiver, antschever
• Borrowings:
  • ⇒ English: incipit, incept

See also

• coepiō

References

• “incipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “incipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “incipio”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to begin with a thing: initium capere; incipere ab aliqua re
    
  • to commence hostilities: bellum incipere, belli initium facere (B. G. 7. 1. 5)
    
• incipio in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016