verbthird conjugation
parcō
parcō (present infinitive parcere, perfect active pepercī or parsī, supine parsum)
Classical[ˈpar.koː]Ecclesiastical[ˈpar.ko]
№ 412 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- accusativewith dativeto spare, save up, economise
- figurativelywith dativeto forgive someone, have mercy for, to be lenient to
Bonīs nocet quisquis pepercit malīs.
He does harm to the good, whoever has been lenient to the badc. 50 BCE, Publilius Syrus, Sententiaevictorque omnibus veniam petentibus civibus peperci.
... and victorious, I spared all the citizens desiring pardon.Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti - to let alone, omit
- to refrain, abstain, avoid
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
nōn laedō quem laedere possum; victīs parcimus.parcō -ere pepercī — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs
spare
parcō -ere — in De Bello Gallico III
Conjugation conjugation 3
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | parcō | parcēbam | parcam | pepercī parsī, parcuī | peperceram parseram, parcueram | pepercerō parserō, parcuerō |
| 2nd sg. | parcis | parcēbās | parcēs | pepercistī parsistī, parcuistī | pepercerās parserās, parcuerās | peperceris parseris, parcueris |
| 3rd sg. | parcit | parcēbat | parcet | pepercit parsit, parcuit | pepercerat parserat, parcuerat | pepercerit parserit, parcuerit |
| 1st pl. | parcimus | parcēbāmus | parcēmus | pepercimus parsimus, parcuimus | pepercerāmus parserāmus, parcuerāmus | pepercerimus parserimus, parcuerimus |
| 2nd pl. | parcitis | parcēbātis | parcētis | pepercistis parsistis, parcuistis | pepercerātis parserātis, parcuerātis | peperceritis parseritis, parcueritis |
| 3rd pl. | parcunt | parcēbant | parcent | pepercērunt pepercēre, parsērunt, parsēre, parcuērunt, parcuēre | pepercerant parserant, parcuerant | pepercerint parserint, parcuerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | parcam | parcerem | pepercerim parserim, parcuerim | pepercissem parsissem, parcuissem |
| 2nd sg. | parcās | parcerēs | pepercerīs parserīs, parcuerīs | pepercissēs parsissēs, parcuissēs |
| 3rd sg. | parcat | parceret | pepercerit parserit, parcuerit | pepercisset parsisset, parcuisset |
| 1st pl. | parcāmus | parcerēmus | pepercerīmus parserīmus, parcuerīmus | pepercissēmus parsissēmus, parcuissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | parcātis | parcerētis | pepercerītis parserītis, parcuerītis | pepercissētis parsissētis, parcuissētis |
| 3rd pl. | parcant | parcerent | pepercerint parserint, parcuerint | pepercissent parsissent, parcuissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | parcor | parcēbar | parcar |
| 2nd sg. | parceris parcere | parcēbāris parcēbāre | parcēris parcēre |
| 3rd sg. | parcitur | parcēbātur | parcētur |
| 1st pl. | parcimur | parcēbāmur | parcēmur |
| 2nd pl. | parciminī | parcēbāminī | parcēminī |
| 3rd pl. | parcuntur | parcēbantur | parcentur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | parcar | parcerer |
| 2nd sg. | parcāris parcāre | parcerēris parcerēre |
| 3rd sg. | parcātur | parcerētur |
| 1st pl. | parcāmur | parcerēmur |
| 2nd pl. | parcāminī | parcerēminī |
| 3rd pl. | parcantur | parcerentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | parce | parcere |
| pres. 2nd pl. | parcite | parciminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | parcitō | parcitor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | parcitō | parcitor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | parcitōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | parcuntō | parcuntor |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | parcere | parcī |
| perfect infinitive | pepercisse parsisse, parcuisse | parsum esse parcitum esse |
| future infinitive | parsūrum esse parcitūrum esse | parsum īrī parcitum īrī |
| present participle | parcēns | — |
| perfect participle | — | parsus parcitus, parsa, parsā, parsae, parsam, parsārum, parsās, parse, parsōrum, parsōs |
| future participle | parsūrus parcitūrus, parsūra, parsūrā, parsūrae, parsūram, parsūrārum, parsūrās, parsūre, parsūrī, parsūrīs, parsūrō, parsūrōrum, parsūrōs, parsūrum | parcendus parcundus, parcenda, parcendā, parcendae, parcendam, parcendārum, parcendās, parcende, parcendīs, parcendōrum, parcendōs |
gerundparcendī, parcendō, parcendumsupineparsum, parsū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- labori, operae non parcere
- to spare no pains.
- sumptui parcere (Fam. 16. 4)
- to incur few expenses.
parco, pĕperci, less freq. parsi (the former constantly in Cic. and Cæs., the latter ante-class. and post-Aug.: parcui, Naev. ap. Non. 153, 21, or Com. 69 Rib.;
I. part. fut. parsurus, Liv. 26, 13, 16; Suet. Tib. 62:
parciturus, Hier. Ep. 14, 2), parsum, and less correctly parcĭtum, 3, v. n. and a. [for sparco; Gr. σπαρνός, rare; cf. Engl. spare; but v. also paucus, parvus], to act sparingly, be sparing with respect to a thing, to spare; constr. usually with dat. or absol.; ante-class. also with acc. I. Lit.
A. Of things (rare but class.).
(a). With dat.:
nihil pretio parsit, filio dum parceret, Plaut. Capt. prol. 32: operae meae, id. Mil. 4, 9, 3: te rogo sumptu ne parcas, Cic. Fam. 16, 4, 2: non parcam operae, id. ib. 13, 27, 1: nec impensae, nec labori, nec periculo parsurum, Liv. 35, 44: petit, ne cui rei parcat ad ea perficienda, Nep. Paus. 2, 5.—(b). Absol.:
frumentum se exigue dierum XXX. habere, sed paulo etiam longius tolerare posse parcendo, Caes. B. G. 7, 71, 4.—Poet.: parcens = parcus: parcentes ego dexteras Odi (= parcius administrantes vinum, flores, etc.), Hor. C. 3, 19, 21.—(g). With acc. (ante-class. and poet.):
oleas, Cato, R. R. 58: pecuniam, Plaut. Curc. 3, 11: argenti atque auri memoras quae multa talenta, Gnatis parce tuis, spare, reserve for your children, Verg. A. 10, 532 Serv.—Prov.: qui parcit virgae odit filium, Vulg. Prov. 13, 24.—B. Of persons, to spare, have mercy upon, forbear to injure or punish (eccl. and late Lat.), usually with dat.:
non pepercisti filio tuo, Vulg. Gen. 22, 16; id. 2 Pet. 2, 4 et saep.—II. Trop.
A. To spare, i. e. to preserve by sparing, to use carefully, not to injure.
(a). With dat.:
tibi parce, Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 112: justitia autem praecipit, parcere omnibus, consulere generi hominum, Cic. Rep. 3, 12: aedificiis omnibus publicis et privatis, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 54, § 120: amicitiis et dignitatibus, id. Or. 26, 89; id. Phil. 2, 24, 59: non aetate confectis, non mulieribus, non infantibus pepercerunt, Caes. B. G. 7, 28: subjectis, sed debellare superbos, Verg. A. 6, 853: ne reliquis quidem nepotibus parsurus creditur, Suet. Tib. 62: alicujus auribus, i. e. to refrain from speaking on disagreeable topics, Cic. Quint. 12, 40; so, auribus et consuetudini, id. de Or. 3, 43, 170: valetudini, id. Fam. 11, 27, 1: famae, Prop. 1, 16, 11: oculis, i. e. to turn away one's eyes from an unpleasant sight, id. 4, 9, 35: luminibus, Tib. 1, 2, 33; Suet. Dom. 11: parcit Cognatis maculis similis fera, Juv. 15, 159.—(b). With in and acc. (ante-and post-class.):
neque parcit in hostes, Lucr. 6, 399: parce in feminam, App. M. 1, p. 105, 39.—(g). Absol. (poet.):
thyrso parcente ferit, i. e. lightly, Stat. Ach. 1, 572.—B. To abstain or refrain from doing a thing; to forbear, leave off, desist, stop, cease, let alone, omit (cf.: desino, mitto): meo labori non parsi, Cato ap. Fest. p. 242 Müll.; cf. Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 3; id. Pers. 2, 5, 11; so,
neque parcetur labori, Cic. Att. 2, 14, 2: auxilio, to make no use of proffered assistance, id. Planc. 35, 86: lamentis, Liv. 6, 3: bello, abstain from, Verg. A. 9, 656: hibernis parcebant flatibus Euri, id. G. 2, 339: parce metu, cease from, id. A. 1, 257.—(b). With inf., to refrain, forbear (not in class. prose):
visere opera tua, Cato, R. R. 1, 1: hancine ego vitam parsi perdere, Ter. Hec. 3, 1, 2: proinde parce, sis, fidem ac jura societatis jactare, Liv. 34, 32: parcite, oves, nimium procedere, Verg. E. 3, 94: pias scelerare manus, id. A. 3, 42: defundere vinum, Hor. S. 2, 2, 58: ne parce dare, id. C. 1, 28, 23: parce postea paupertatem cuiquam objectare, App. Mag. 23, p. 289, 3; Aug. Ep. 43, 24: ori, to refrain from speaking, Vulg. Job, 7, 11.—* (g). With acc.:
parcito linguam in sacrificiis dicebatur, i. e. coërceto, contineto, taceto, Fest. p. 222 Müll.—*(d). With ab, to desist from:
precantes, ut a caedibus et ab incendiis parceretur, Liv. 25, 25, 6; so with abl. alone: caede, Aus. Epigr. 130, 4.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
parcō pepercī or (old and late) parsī, parsus, ere
SPAR-, to act sparingly, be sparing, spare, refrain from, use moderately : paulo longius tolerari posse parcendo, Cs.: non parcam operae: nec labori, nec periculo parsurum, L.: ne cui rei parcat ad ea efficienda, N.: talenta Gnatis parce tuis, reserve for your children , V.—Fig., to spare, preserve by sparing, treat with forbearance, use carefully, not injure : tibi parce, T.: omnibus: non mulieribus, non infantibus pepercerunt, Cs.: Capuae, L.: Parcere subiectis, et debellare superbos, show mercy , V.: eius auribus, i. e. avoid a disagreeable topic : qui mihi non censeret parci oportere. — To abstain, refrain, forbear, leave off, desist, stop, cease, let alone, omit : Parcite iam, V.: auxilio, refuse : lamentis, L.: bello, abstain from , V.: parce metu (dat.), cease from , V.: nec divom parcimus ulli, i. e. shrink from facing , V.: hancine ego vitam parsi perdere, T.: parce fidem ac iura societatis iactare, L.: ne parce dare, H.: Parce temerarius esse, O.: precantes, ut a caedibus parceretur, refrain from , L.—With abl gerund. : ne hic quidem contumeliis in eos dicendis parcitis, L.
Origins
Disputed. According to De Vaan, from Proto-Italic *pe-arkō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“off”) + *h₂erk- (“to hold, guard”) (whence arceō). The linguist Michael Weiss suggests that the Proto-Indo-European compound *pe-h₂erk- became *pe-h₂ark-, then *peh₂ark-, whence *pah₂ark-, which became *pārk-, and then *park- via Osthoff's law. Weiss suggests that the pre-form *pe-h₂erk- may also be continued by Hittite 𒁉𒂊𒄯𒍣 (pé-e-ḫar-zi) The LIV, however, derives the term from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥k-é-ti, itself from the putative root *perk-. De Vaan rejects this theory, arguing that it is semantically unconvincing. Others make it cognate with Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), English spare. See also parcus.
Descendants
- Italianparcere
- Spanishparcir
- Basquebarkatu