noun · femininethird declension
āctiō
āctiō f (genitive āctiōnis)
Classical[ˈaːk.ti.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈak.t͡si.o]
Meaning
- action; a doing or performing, behavior
- public function, civil act
- suit, process, action
- gesticulation made while speaking
- the action, plot, series of events
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | āctiō | āctiōnēs |
| genitive | āctiōnis | āctiōnum |
| dative | āctiōnī | āctiōnibus |
| accusative | āctiōnem | āctiōnēs |
| ablative | āctiōne | āctiōnibus |
| vocative | āctiō | āctiōnēs |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- actio
- the treatment of the piece.
- actio, petitio
- a private, civil prosecution.
- actio (Brut. 38)
- delivery.
- actio paulum claudicat
- the delivery is rather halting, poor.
- philosophia, quae in actione versatur
- practical philosophy.
actĭo, ōnis, f. ago,
I. a doing, performing, acting, action, act.
I. In gen.:
non modo deos spoliat motu et actione divina, sed etiam homines inertes efficit, Cic. N. D. 1, 37; 2, 16; virtutis laus omnis in actione consistit, id. Off. 1, 6; id. Fin. 5, 19, 54.—With subject. gen.: ad eas res parandas, quibus actio vitae continetur, active, practical life, id. Off. 1, 5: corporis, id. Div. 1, 32: mentis, id. N. D. 1, 17; and with object. gen.: itaque nec actio rerum illarum (the public performance of those things) apertā petulantiā vacat, id. ib. 1, 35, 127; ib. 1, 43: actio ullius rei, id. Ac. 2, 33, 108; and so plur.: periculosae rerum actiones sunt, Off. 1, 2, 4; hence: actio gratiarum, the giving of thanks, id. Fam. 10, 19 (cf.: gratias agere).—II. Esp.
A. Public functions, civil acts, proceedings, or duties.
1. In gen., Cic. Fam. 9, 8:
tribunorum, their official duties, Liv. 5, 11; so, consularis, id. 4, 55 al.: actiones nostras scriptis mandamus, Cic. Off. 2, 1; Caes. B. C. 1, 5.—Hence negotiation, deliberation: discessu consulum actio de pace sublata est, Cic. Att. 9. 9.—Esp. 2. Of judicial proceedings.
a. An action, suit, process (in abstr.), with a gen. more precisely defining it, e. g. actio furti, injuriarum; also with de:
actio de repetundis, de arboribus succisis, etc.: actionem alicui intendere, Cic. Mil. 14: instituere, to bring an action against one, id. Mur. 9: multis actiones (processes, suits) et res (the property in suit) peribant, Liv. 39, 18 al.—b. The accusation (in concr.), the statement of the crime, the indictment, charge, accusation:
Inde illa actio, OPE CONSILIOQVE TVO FVRTVM AIO FACTVM ESSE, Cic. N. D. 3, 30, 74; cf. id. Caecin. 3; id. de Or. 1, 36, 167.—Hence, in gen., judicial forms (the omission of which rendered a suit null and void): actiones Manilianae, forms relative to purchase and sale; cf. Cic. de Or. 1, 58, 246: Hostilianae, ib. 1, 57, 245.—Hence, c. A pleading of a case (spoken or written); so Cic. calls his Orats. against Verres, actiones, pleas, simply dividing them into actio prima and actio secunda:
actio causae, Cic. Caecin. 2, 4; actiones litium, id. Phil. 9, 5, 11; so, Suet. continuae actiones, Ner. 15: in prima parte actionis, Quint. 10, 1, 20 al.—d. Permission for a suit:
dare alicui actionem (which was the right or duty of the praetor or judge), Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 27.—e. The judicial management of a suit, the trial, the day of trial:
prima, altera, tertia, Cic. Verr. 1, 30; 2, 2, 6.—B. Gesticulation connected with oral delivery.
1. Of an orator; the exterior air or bearing, the action, delivery: Demosthenem ferunt ei qui quaesivisset quid primum esset in dicendo, actionem;
quid secundum, idem et idem tertium respondisse, Cic. Brut. 38; cf. id. de Or. 1, 18; so that it often includes even the voice: actio ejus (Pompeii) habebat et in voce magnum splendorem et in motu summam dignitatem, id. Brut. 68; cf. id. Or. 17: est actio quasi sermo corporis, id. de Or. 3, 59; cf. ib. 2, 17 al.—Hence, also —2. Of an actor, action:
in quo tanta commoveri actio non posset, id. de Or. 3, 26.— C. In dramatic lang., the action, the connection or series of events, the plot, in a play:
habet enim (fabula) varios actus multasque actiones et consiliorum et temporum, Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 6.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
āctiō ōnis, f
1 AG-, a putting in motion; hence, a performing, doing, action: virtutis laus in actione consistit, in deeds.—Esp.: gratiarum, a rendering.—Of an orator or player, a rendering, declamation: consulis. — Public acts, official conduct, achievements: radicitus evellere omnīs actiones tuas: celebrare actiones, make their policy popular, L.: Ciceronis, S.: tribunicia, a measure, L.—A suit at law, action, process: actionem instituere: causae: actionem intendere, to bring suit: hac actione uti, this form of action: lenior. — Permission to bring a suit: actionem dare alicui: alterā, at the second trial.
Origins
By surface analysis, āctum + -tiō, using the supine of agō (“do, make”). The term is perhaps also comparable in form to Umbrian 𐌀𐌇𐌕𐌉𐌌𐌄𐌌 (ahtimem), though the etymology of this term is uncertain.
Elsewhere
- Catalanacció
- GermanAktiefrom Dutch actie
- GermanAktion
- Italianazione
- Occitanaccion
- Frenchactionfrom Old French action
- Portugueseação
- Spanishacción
- Asturianaición
- Asturianaciu
Italo-Romance
- Italianlazzo