LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird conjugation

praetexō

praetexō (present infinitive praetexere, perfect active praetexuī, supine praetextum)
Classical[prae̯ˈtɛk.soː]Ecclesiastical[preˈtɛk.so]

Meaning

  1. to fringe, edge, border (weaving)
  2. to place before or in front
  3. to adorn
  4. figurativelyto cover, conceal, hide, disguise
    Coniugium vocat, hoc praetexit nōmine culpam.[Dido] calls [it] marriage, [and] with this name she hides her blame.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.172
  5. to pretend

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

nōmine honestō tegō
praetexō -ere — in Aeneis, ch. 9

Conjugation conjugation 3

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.praetexōpraetexēbampraetexampraetexuīpraetexuerampraetexuerō
2nd sg.praetexispraetexēbāspraetexēspraetexuistīpraetexuerāspraetexueris
3rd sg.praetexitpraetexēbatpraetexetpraetexuitpraetexueratpraetexuerit
1st pl.praeteximuspraetexēbāmuspraetexēmuspraetexuimuspraetexuerāmuspraetexuerimus
2nd pl.praetexitispraetexēbātispraetexētispraetexuistispraetexuerātispraetexueritis
3rd pl.praetexuntpraetexēbantpraetexentpraetexuērunt
praetexuēre		praetexuerantpraetexuerint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.praetexampraetexerempraetexuerimpraetexuissem
2nd sg.praetexāspraetexerēspraetexuerīspraetexuissēs
3rd sg.praetexatpraetexeretpraetexueritpraetexuisset
1st pl.praetexāmuspraetexerēmuspraetexuerīmuspraetexuissēmus
2nd pl.praetexātispraetexerētispraetexuerītispraetexuissētis
3rd pl.praetexantpraetexerentpraetexuerintpraetexuissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.praetexorpraetexēbarpraetexar
2nd sg.praetexeris
praetexere		praetexēbāris
praetexēbāre		praetexēris
praetexēre
3rd sg.praetexiturpraetexēbāturpraetexētur
1st pl.praeteximurpraetexēbāmurpraetexēmur
2nd pl.praeteximinīpraetexēbāminīpraetexēminī
3rd pl.praetexunturpraetexēbanturpraetexentur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.praetexarpraetexerer
2nd sg.praetexāris
praetexāre		praetexerēris
praetexerēre
3rd sg.praetexāturpraetexerētur
1st pl.praetexāmurpraetexerēmur
2nd pl.praetexāminīpraetexerēminī
3rd pl.praetexanturpraetexerentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.praetexepraetexere
pres. 2nd pl.praetexitepraeteximinī
fut. 2nd sg.praetexitōpraetexitor
fut. 3rd sg.praetexitōpraetexitor
fut. 2nd pl.praetexitōte—
fut. 3rd pl.praetexuntōpraetexuntor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivepraetexerepraetexī
perfect infinitivepraetexuissepraetextum esse
future infinitivepraetextūrum essepraetextum īrī
present participlepraetexēns—
perfect participle—praetextus
praetexta, praetextā, praetextae, praetextam, praetextārum, praetextās, praetexte, praetextī, praetextīs, praetextō, praetextōrum, praetextōs
future participlepraetextūrus
praetextūra, praetextūrā, praetextūrae, praetextūram, praetextūrārum, praetextūrās, praetextūre, praetextūrī, praetextūrīs, praetextūrō, praetextūrōrum, praetextūrōs, praetextūrum		praetexendus
praetexundus, praetexenda, praetexendā, praetexendae, praetexendam, praetexendārum, praetexendās, praetexende, praetexendīs, praetexendōrum, praetexendōs
gerundpraetexendī, praetexendō, praetexendumsupinepraetextum, praetextū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

praetendere, praetexere aliquid
to make something an excuse, pretext.

prae-texo, xŭi, xtum, 3, v. a.,
I. to weave before or in front, to fringe, edge, border.
I. Lit. (mostly poet.): purpura saepe tuos fulgens praetexit amictus, Ov. P. 3, 8, 7: glaucas comis praetexere frondes, weave around, Val. Fl. 3, 436; Plin. 16, 1, 1, § 4: praetexit arundine ripas Mincius, Verg. E. 7, 12: litora curvae Praetexunt puppes, id. A. 6, 5: fontem violis, Claud. Cons. Prob. et Olybr. 249: limina ramis, Rapt. Pros. 2, 320: ripam ulvis, Aus. Idyll. 10, 45: sicubi odoratas praetexit amaracus umbras, spreads over, Col. 10, 297.—In mid. force: utraeque nationes Rheno praetexuntur, border on the Rhine, Tac. G. 34.—
B. Transf.
1. To place before or in front (syn.: praetendo, praepono): in his voluminibus auctorum nomina praetexui, Plin. praef. § 21: auctores quos praetexuimus volumini huic, id. 18, 25, 57, § 212: tibi maximus honor excubare pro templis, postibusque praetexi, i. e. that your statues stand before the temples, Plin. Pan. 52.—
2. To border, to furnish, provide, or adorn with any thing: ex primo versu cujusque sententiae primis litteris illius sententiae carmen omne praetexitur, the whole poem is bordered (like an acrostic) with the initial letters from the first verse of every sentence (oracle), Cic. Div. 2, 54, 112: omnia quae aguntur acerrime, lenioribus principiis natura praetexuit, has provided with, etc., id. de Or. 2, 78, 317: praetexta quercu domus, Ov. F. 4, 953; 5, 567: summaque praetexat tenuis fastigia chartae, Indicet ut nomen, littera facta, meum, let my name be inscribed upon it, Tib. 3, 1, 11.—
II. Trop.
A. To allege as an excuse, to pretend, to assign as a pretext (syn. causor): cupiditatem triumphi, Cic. Pis. 24, 56: nomina speciosa, Tac. H. 1, 72.—With acc. and inf.: ubicumque ipsi essent, praetexentes esse rempublicam, Vell. 2, 62, 3: Tigellinus T. Vinii potentia defensus, praetexentis, servatam ab eo filiam, Tac. H. 1, 72.—
B. To cover, cloak, conceal, disguise with any thing: hoc praetexit nomine culpam, Verg. A. 4, 172: funera sacris, id. ib. 4, 500: fraudem blando risu, Claud. Ruf. 1, 99.—Hence, praetextus, a, um, P. a., clothed with or wearing the toga praetexta: praetextus senatus (for praetextā in dutus), Prop. 4 (5), 1, 11. pubes, Aus. Prof. 18, 7.—
B. In partic.
1. Toga praetexta, and (post-Aug.) absol.: praetexta, ae, f., the outer garment, bordered with purple, worn at Rome by the higher magistrates and by free-born children till they assumed the toga virilis, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 14, § 36; 2, 1, 44, § 113; id. Q. Fr. 2, 12, 2; Liv. 27, 37; 33, 42; Plin. 9, 39, 63, § 136; 33, 1, 4, § 10 et saep.: praetextā pullā nulli alii licebat uti, quam ei, qui funus faciebat, Paul. ex Fest. p. 236 Müll.—Hence,
b. praetexta, ae, f. (sc. fabula), a tragedy, because celebrated Romans (like Brutus, Decius, Marcellus) were represented in it: nostri vestigia Graeca Ausi deserere, et celebrare domestica facta, Vel qui praetextas vel qui docuere togatas, Hor. A. P. 286; Pollio ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 32, 3: praetextam legere, id. ib. 10, 32, 5.—
2. praetextum, i, n.
a. An ornament, as something wrought or fastened in front (post - Aug.): pulcherrimum reipublicae praetextum, Sen. Ep. 71, 9.—
b. A pretence, pretext, excuse (post-Aug.; cf.: species, simulatio): et praetextum quidem illi civilium armorum hoc fuit: causas autem alias fuisse opinantur, Suet. Caes. 30: ad praetextum mutatae voluntatis, under pretext or color of, id. Aug. 12: ipse Ravennam devertit praetexto classem alloquendi, under pretext, Tac. H. 2, 100: praetexto reipublicae, id. ib. 3, 80; Sen. Contr. 4, 25, 14.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinpraetexō

Latin texō Latin praetexō From prae- + texō.

Descendants
  • Englishpretext
  • Frenchprétexter
  • Spanishpretextar

In English words that came into English from praetexō

  • pretextpraetextum
  • praetextatoga

Quick answers

What does praetexō mean in Latin?
praetexō, a verb, means “to fringe, edge, border (weaving); to place before or in front; to adorn”.
What are the principal parts of praetexō?
praetexō, praetexere, praetexuī, praetextum (third conjugation).
How do you pronounce praetexō?
In classical Latin, [prae̯ˈtɛk.soː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [preˈtɛk.so].
Where does praetexō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *per- → Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? → Proto-Italic *prai → Proto-Italic *prai- → Latin praetexō.