coepī
Meaning
- to have begun or started
Quotiēns illum lūx noctū aliquid dēscrībere ingressum, quotiēns nox oppressit, cum māne coepisset!
How often did the light [of dawn] find him still at work on some chart he had begun during the night! [And] how often did the night overtake him when he had started [his labors] early in the morning! (The efforts of Gaius Sulpicius Gallus to measure heaven and earth. The subjunctive is used here because it is in a cum circumstantial clause.)106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 14.49 - uncommonto begin
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
incēpī; ``coepit'' = ``incēpit''.initium fēcīChoosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Incipere · Ordiri · Inchoare · Cœpisse
1. Incipere denotes the beginning, in opp. to the state of rest, which precedes and follows, consequently it is in opp. to cessare and desinere, desistere, finire; whereas ordiri (from ἔρδειν, radix,) in opp. to an advancement; consequently in opp. to continuare, and its intransitive pergere; lastly, inchoare (from conari) in opp. to ending and accomplishing, consequently in opp. to perficere, consummare, peragere, absolvere, etc. Cic. Off. i. 37. Ut incipiendi ratio fuerit, ita sit desinendi modus. Tusc. i. 49. Sen. Ep. 116. Plin. H. N. xi. 51. Plin. Pan. 54, 6. 57, 2. Ep. ix. 4. Quintil. xi. 3, 34. Tac. Agr. 32. Varro R. R. iii. 16. Apes cum evolaturæ sunt, aut etiam inciperunt, consonant vehementer. Cic. Fin. iv. 6. Hoc inchoati cujusdam officii est, non perfecti. Brut. 33. Liv. xl. 9. Plin. Ep. iii. 8, 7. Plin. H. N. x. 63. Tac. Dial. 33. Suet. Claud. 3. Cic. Fr. ap. Non. Perge, quæso, nec enim imperite exorsus es. 2. Cœpi has nearly the same words in opp. to it as incipere has; Sen. Cons. Polyb. 20. Quicquid cœpit, et desinit. Cic. Rab. Post. 2. Ovid, Ep. ix. 23; cœpi refers more to the action which is begun; incepi, more to the beginning which has been made. Cœpi is a sort of auxiliary verb; incepi is emphatic; hence cœpi has an infinitive, incipere a substantive, for its object. Cic. Verr. v. 10. Quum ver esse cœperat (sed cum rosam viderat, tum ver incipere arbitrabatur), dabat se labori. (iii. 157.)
Conjugation conjugation 3 present
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | — | — | — | coepī | coeperam | coeperō |
| 2nd sg. | — | — | — | coepistī | coeperās | coeperis |
| 3rd sg. | — | — | — | coepit | coeperat | coeperit |
| 1st pl. | — | — | — | coepimus | coeperāmus | coeperimus |
| 2nd pl. | — | — | — | coepistis | coeperātis | coeperitis |
| 3rd pl. | — | — | — | coepērunt coepēre | coeperant | coeperint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | — | — | coeperim | coepissem |
| 2nd sg. | — | — | coeperīs | coepissēs |
| 3rd sg. | — | — | coeperit | coepisset |
| 1st pl. | — | — | coeperīmus | coepissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | — | — | coeperītis | coepissētis |
| 3rd pl. | — | — | coeperint | coepissent |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| perfect infinitive | coepisse | coeptum esse |
| future infinitive | coeptūrum esse | coeptum īrī |
| perfect participle | — | coeptus coepta, coeptā, coeptae, coeptam, coeptārum, coeptās, coepte, coeptī, coeptīs, coeptō, coeptōrum, coeptōs |
| future participle | coeptūrus coeptūra, coeptūrā, coeptūrae, coeptūram, coeptūrārum, coeptūrās, coeptūre, coeptūrī, coeptūrīs, coeptūrō, coeptūrōrum, coeptūrōs, coeptūrum | — |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- aegrotare coepit
- he fell ill.
- res gladiis geri coepta est
- swords must now decide the day.
- fides aliquem deficere coepit
- a man's credit begins to go down.
Origins
From earlier Old Latin coëpiō, coapiō, with a trisyllabic stem, from co- + apiō (literally “to lay hold of something on different sides, to lay hold of”). Late Latin coepiō, with a disyllabic stem, is a back-formation.
- Late Latincoepiō