verbfirst conjugation, deponent
percontor
percontor (present infinitive percontārī or percontārier, perfect active percontātus sum)
Classical[pɛrˈkɔn.tɔr]Ecclesiastical[perˈkɔn.tor]
Meaning
- deponentto inquire, investigate, interrogate, question strictly
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Rogare · Interrogare · Percontari · Sciscitari
Rogare, interrogare, and quærere, denote a simple questioning; rogare (ὀργᾶν, ὀρέγεσθαι), as willing to know; interrogare, as wishing to know; whereas percontari and sciscitari denote urgently asking; percontari (from γνῶναι) always from a desire of knowledge, with seriousness and calmness; sciscitari (redupl. of scitari) often from curiosity, with inquisitiveness, eagerness, or also with cunning, like pumping or ferreting out. (v. 125.)
Conjugation conjugation 1 deponent
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | percontor | percontābar | percontābor | — | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | percontāris percontāre | percontābāris percontābāre | percontāberis percontābere | — | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | percontātur | percontābātur | percontābitur | — | — | — |
| 1st pl. | percontāmur | percontābāmur | percontābimur | — | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | percontāminī | percontābāminī | percontābiminī | — | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | percontantur | percontābantur | percontābuntur | — | — | — |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | perconter | percontārer | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | percontēris percontēre | percontārēris percontārēre | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | percontētur | percontārētur | — | — |
| 1st pl. | percontēmur | percontārēmur | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | percontēminī | percontārēminī | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | percontentur | percontārentur | — | — |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | percontāre | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | percontāminī | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | percontātor | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | percontātor | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | percontantor | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | percontārī percontārier | — |
| perfect infinitive | percontātum esse | — |
| future infinitive | percontātūrum esse | — |
| present participle | percontāns | — |
| perfect participle | percontātus percontāta, percontātā, percontātae, percontātam, percontātārum, percontātās, percontāte, percontātī, percontātīs, percontātō, percontātōrum, percontātōs | — |
| future participle | percontātūrus percontātūra, percontātūrā, percontātūrae, percontātūram, percontātūrārum, percontātūrās, percontātūre, percontātūrī, percontātūrīs, percontātūrō, percontātūrōrum, percontātūrōs, percontātūrum | percontandus percontanda, percontandā, percontandae, percontandam, percontandārum, percontandās, percontande, percontandīs, percontandōrum, percontandōs |
gerundpercontandī, percontandō, percontandumsupinepercontātum, percontātū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- percontanti non deesse (De Or. 1. 21. 97)
- to answer every question.
percontor (percunct-), ātus, 1 (
I. inf. percontarier, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 78; id. As. 2, 2, 76; id. Cas. 3, 3, 8; id. Most. 4, 2, 47 al.), v. dep. a. and n. per and root cunc-; Sanscr. canc- (canka, hesitation); cf. ὄκνος for κόκνος, to ask particularly, to question strictly, to inquire, interrogate, investigate (class.; syn.: interrogo, sciscitor).—Constr.: aliquem de aliquā re, aliquem and interrog.clause, aliquem alone; also, aliquid ab (rarely ex) aliquo and absol.; also aliquem aliquid:
cocum percontabatur, possent, etc., Plaut. Capt. 4, 4, 9: percontari hanc paucis hic volt, id. Pers. 4, 4, 49: percontarier, utrum, etc., id. Bacch. 4, 1, 4: me infit percontarier, ecquem noverim Demaenetum, id. As. 2, 2, 76: dum percontor portitores, ecquae navis venerit, id. Stich. 2, 2, 42: percontare te perpetuisne malis voluptatibus perfruens ... degere aetatem, Cic. Fin. 2, 35, 118: singulos percontari, cum quā sit aliqui deprensus, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 7, 2: Porum percontatur an verum esset, Curt. 9, 2, 5: spadonem ... num quid velit dicere, id. 5, 11, 4: Caesarem an, etc., Tac. A. 12, 5; 4, 17; id. H. 4, 82; Just. 11, 7, 6: nutricem, quid hoc rei sit, Liv. 3, 48, 4: tu numquam mihi percontanti aut quaerenti aliquid defuisti, Cic. de Or. 1, 21, 97; 2, 71: percontando atque interrogando elicere alicujus opinionem, Cic. Fin. 2, 1, 2: percontari ab aliquo, id. Ac. 1, 1, 2: ab adversariis percontabitur, quid, etc., Auct. Her. 2, 15, 22; Varr. R. R. 3, 12, 1: ab eo percontaretur, Curt. 6, 7, 27: cum percontaretur ex aniculā quādam, quanti aliquid venderet, Cic. Brut. 46, 72; cf. id. Div. 2, 36, 76: ex his scribis percontamini quid velint, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 79, § 183: aliquem ex aliquo, to ask a person respecting another, Plaut. As. 2, 4, 95: aliquem de aliquā re, Cic. Rep. 6, 9, 9: peritos de ascensu Haemi, Liv. 40, 21, 3: pauca percunctatus de statu civitatis, Sall. C. 40, 2: aliquem aliquid, Plaut. Ps. 1, 5, 47; id. Aul. 2, 2, 33; Liv. 39, 12, 1: quae percunctare eum magistratus vellent, id. 39, 49, 12; Tac. A. 15, 60; Curt. 5, 11, 8: meum si quis te percontabitur aevum, Hor. Ep. 1, 20, 26.—II. To find out by inquiry, App. M. p. 113, 8.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
percontor or percūnctor ātus, ārī, dep.
per+contus, to search with a pole; the form percunctor was suggested by a mistaken etymology from cunctus, to ask particularly, question strictly, inquire, interrogate, investigate : percontando elicere opinionem: Sed quos perconter video, T.: Porum an verum esset, Cu.: nutricem, quid hoc rei sit, L.: tu numquam mihi percontanti aliquid defuisti: ex aniculā quanti aliquid venderet: ex his scribis quid velint: pauca percunctatus de statu civitatis, S.: eam quoque esse quae percunctari vellet, of her too he wished to ask some questions , L.: meum si quis te percontabitur aevum, H.: percontari Patrona causam consilii, Cu.
Origins
Uncertain, suggestions include: * from contus (“stick, pole; plummet”), as if "to probe, to feel the depth with a (long) pole"; * from cū̆nctor (this appears semantically unconvincing and more likely simply influenced by it, as in the Vulgar Latin derivative below, but compare Japanese 掛ける); * from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask”).
Elsewhere
- Italianpercontare
- Englishpercontatorial
- Vulgar Latin*praecū̆nctāre
Insular Romance
- Logudoresepregontarifrom Old Sardinian percontare
Italo-Romance
- Sicilianpercuntari