verbfirst conjugation, deponent, impersonal in the passive
cūnctor
cūnctor (present infinitive cūnctārī or cūnctārier, perfect active cūnctātus sum)
Classical[ˈkuːŋk.tɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈkuŋk.tor]
Meaning
- deponentimpersonalto delay, impede or hold up
"Quid cunctaris?", inquit, "Quid cessas? Nisi occupas, fugit."
"Why do you delay," says he, "Why are you idle? Unless you seize the day, it flees."c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, De brevitate vitae 9 - deponentimpersonalto hesitate, tarry or linger
- deponentimpersonalto dawdle
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
moror, dubitōcūnctor -ārī — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 16 and Aeneis, ch. 14
moror, dubitōdelay, hesitate
cūnctor -ārī — in De Bello Gallico II, ch. 17 and De Bello Gallico III, ch. 3
dubitō et tardē agōcūnctor -ārī — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 17
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Cunctari · Hæsitare · Cessare
Cunctari (from ξυνέκειν, or κατέχειν), means to delay from consideration, like μέλλειν; hæsitare, from want of resolution; cessare (καθίζειν?) from want of strength and energy, like ὀκνεῖν. The cunctans delays to begin an action; the cessans, to go on with an action already begun. (iii. 300.)
Conjugation conjugation 1 deponent
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | cūnctor | cūnctābar | cūnctābor | — | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | cūnctāris cūnctāre | cūnctābāris cūnctābāre | cūnctāberis cūnctābere | — | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | cūnctātur | cūnctābātur | cūnctābitur | — | — | — |
| 1st pl. | cūnctāmur | cūnctābāmur | cūnctābimur | — | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | cūnctāminī | cūnctābāminī | cūnctābiminī | — | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | cūnctantur | cūnctābantur | cūnctābuntur | — | — | — |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | cūncter | cūnctārer | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | cūnctēris cūnctēre | cūnctārēris cūnctārēre | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | cūnctētur | cūnctārētur | — | — |
| 1st pl. | cūnctēmur | cūnctārēmur | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | cūnctēminī | cūnctārēminī | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | cūnctentur | cūnctārentur | — | — |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | cūnctāre | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | cūnctāminī | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | cūnctātor | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | cūnctātor | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | cūnctantor | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | cūnctārī cūnctārier | — |
| perfect infinitive | cūnctātum esse | — |
| future infinitive | cūnctātūrum esse | — |
| present participle | cūnctāns | — |
| perfect participle | cūnctātus cūnctāta, cūnctātā, cūnctātae, cūnctātam, cūnctātārum, cūnctātās, cūnctāte, cūnctātī, cūnctātīs, cūnctātō, cūnctātōrum, cūnctātōs | — |
| future participle | cūnctātūrus cūnctātūra, cūnctātūrā, cūnctātūrae, cūnctātūram, cūnctātūrārum, cūnctātūrās, cūnctātūre, cūnctātūrī, cūnctātūrīs, cūnctātūrō, cūnctātūrōrum, cūnctātūrōs, cūnctātūrum | cūnctandum |
gerundcūnctandī, cūnctandō, cūnctandumsupinecūnctātum, cūnctātū
cunctor (in many MSS. and edd. also contor), ātus, 1 (archaic
I. inf. cunctarier, Lucr. 3, 67), v. dep. cf. Sanscr. çank, to be anxious; Gr. ὄκνος, to delay action (from deliberation or indolence), to linger, loiter, hesitate, doubt (freq. and class.); constr. absol., with the inf. or a subj.-clause.
I. Of personal subjects.
(a). Absol., so the verse of Ennius upon the dictator Q. Fab. Maximus Cunctator: unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem, Enn. ap. Cic. Off. 1, 24, 84 (Ann. v. 313 Vahl.; also cited Cic. Sen. 4, 10; id. Att. 2, 19, 2; Liv. 30, 26, 9);
imitated by Verg., A. 6, 846, Ov. F. 2, 242 (the idea contained in cunctando is expressed by sedendo, Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 2; cf.: sedendo et cunctando bellum gerebat, Liv. 22, 24, 10; and by non pugnando, Plin. 22, 5, 5, § 10): assequor omnia si propero, si cunctor amitto, Cic. Att. 10, 8, 5: an etiam tunc quiesceretis, cunctaremini, timeretis? id. Sest. 38, 81; cf.: ne quis cesset ... qui cunctatus fuerit, etc., Liv. 35, 35, 17, and v. cesso: nostris militibus cunctantibus, Desilite, inquit, etc., Caes. B. G. 4, 25: alius alium exspectantes cunctamini, Sall. C. 52, 28; Ov. M. 8, 753 et saep.: in vitā cunctatur et haeret, Lucr. 3, 407; cf. Cic. Tusc. 1, 46, 111: inter metum et iram cunctatus, Tac. A. 2, 66: ille inter pudorem et iram cunctatus, id. ib. 14, 49: cunctante ad ea Mithridate, id. ib. 12, 46: ut ad laborem capessendum nihil cunctentur, Gell. 2, 29, 12.—Impers. pass.: nec cunctatum apud latera, Tac. A. 3, 46: non esse cunctandum, Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 5: non cunctandum neque cessandum esse, Liv. 35, 18, 8.—(b). With inf.:
non est cunctandum profiteri, hunc, etc., Cic. Univ. 3 fin.: utrisque cunctantibus periculum summae rerum facere, Liv. 25, 39, 18; 31, 7, 5: ne cunctetur ipse propius accedere, Sall. C. 44, 6; id. J. 13, 6; Col. 8, 15 fin.; Suet. Caes. 70; id. Vesp. 16: ne cunctaretur Agrippam morte adficere, Tac. A. 1, 6.— (g). With rel.-clause (rare):
vos cunctamini etiam nunc, quid faciatis? Sall. C. 52, 25: diu cunctatus an, etc., Suet. Caes. 81; id. Aug. 8: primum cunctati, utrumne ... an, etc., id. Caes. 80: non cunctandum existimavit quin, etc., Caes. B. G. 3, 23 fin.—II. Poet. transf., of things as subjects:
tardum cunctatur olivum, runs slowly, Lucr. 2, 392: refrigescit cunctando plaga, id. 4, 703: turpis contemptus et acris egestas ... videntur cunctarier, id. 3, 67; cf.: cunctatur et amnis Rauca sonans revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto, Verg. A. 9, 124.—Hence, cunctans, antis, P. a., delaying, lingering, dilatory, slow, tardy. 1. Of persons (post-Aug. and rare):
erat cunctantior cautiorque, Plin. Ep. 9, 13, 6; cf. id. ib. 2, 16, 4: ad dimicandum cunctantior, Suet. Caes. 60; cf.: familia cunctans ad opera, Col. 11, 1, 14: naturā ac senectā cunctantior, Tac. H. 3, 4.—With acc. respect.: alternos aegro cunctantem poplite gressus, Val. Fl. 2, 93.—2. Of things, tenacious, tough, slow, resisting, etc. (poet. and rare):
mellis cunctantior actus, Lucr. 3, 193: corripit Aeneas extemplo avidusque refringit Cunctantem (ramum), Verg. A. 6, 211: glaebas cunctantis exspecta, id. G. 2, 236: corda viri, Val. Fl. 3, 693: ira, Stat. Th. 5, 680.—Adv.: cunctanter, slowly, with delay (rare), Liv. 1, 36, 4; 10, 4, 8; Tac. H. 2, 52 al.—Comp., Suet. Galb. 12; id. Caes. 19; Tac. A. 1, 71.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cunctor (cont-) ātus, ārī, dep.,
to delay, linger, loiter, hesitate, doubt: cunctando restituit rem, Enn. ap. C.: cunctando bellum gerebat, L.: omnia si cunctor amitto: qui cunctatus fuerit, L.: dolo an vere, S.: militibus cunctantibus, Desilite, inquit, etc., Cs.: alius alium exspectantes cunctamini, S.: diutius in vita: inter metum et iram, Ta.: super tantā re, Ta.: Cunctatusque brevi, after a moment of hesitation, O.: (apes) partīs cunctatur in omnīs, i. e. threatens, V.: propius accedere, S.: arma capere, L.: cunctamini, quid faciatis? S.: non cunctandum quin decertaret, Cs.: cunctatur amnis, lingers, V.: corripit Cunctantem (ramum), reluctant, V.—Pass impers.: non est cunctandum profiteri, etc.: nec cunctatum apud latera, Ta.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk-der. Proto-Italic *konkitos Latindenom.? Latin cunctor Perhaps a denominative in -ō from an unattested adjective or participle, Proto-Italic *konkitos (“hanging”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to hang”). Alternatively, it may have emerged from a pre-form *cuncitō, itself possibly an iterative from earlier *konk-e/ō-, which may derive from Proto-Indo-European *ḱonk-éye-ti, a causative from the root *ḱenk- (“to hang”). This same causative form may also be the source of Proto-Germanic *hangijaną. Cognate with English hang.
Descendants
- Italiancunta
In English words that came into English from cūnctor
- cunctatorcūnctātor
- cunctationcūnctātiō
- cunctatorycūnctor
- cunctativecunctari