31.05.25: Level 1; readings [12] - [15]: review (4); eō, īre and its compounds

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/160324-eo-ire-irregular-go-compounds-of.html

eī, īre (go) is classified as an irregular verb in that it does not conform precisely to the way in which other verbs are formed. Despite this, it still has the same personal endings. What is unusual about the verb is that almost all those endings are attached to a single vowel

e¦ō: I go

ī¦s: you (sg.) go

i¦t: he / she / it goes

ī¦mus: we go

ī¦tis: you (pl.) go

eu¦nt: they go

compound verbs

a compound verb is one that is made of two or more parts e.g. over¦eat, black¦mail, under¦estimate etc. In Latin, compound verbs are often created with prefixes, many of which also function as prepositions. Here are a few examples although other compounds with eō exist.

ā / ab [(away) from] > ab¦eō, abīre: go away; depart

ad [towards] > ad¦eō, adīre: go to; approach

circum [around] > circum¦eō, circumīre: go around; surround

ē / ex [out of] > ex¦eō, exīre: go out

in [in(to) > on] in¦eō, inīre: go into

trāns [across] > trāns¦eō, trānsīre: go across

The prefix re- in English in, for example, reread and renew is derived from Latin re(d)- with the same original idea of ‘again’ or ‘back’: redeō, redīre: go back; return

Another commonly found example is: praeter (preposition + accusative): past > praeter¦eō, praeterīre: go past

The slightly odd one is per¦eō, perīre, using the preposition per (through) as a prefix: its meaning is ‘to perish; pass away; die’

You might want to remember this Mediaeval line:

Novus, novus amor est quō pereō!

It’s a new, new love by which I perish!

A word of advice / warning: Latin verbs can have multiple meanings which, while still rooted in the basic sense of the verb, are used to convey many abstract concepts e.g.

domum inīre: to go into a house, but bellum inīre (begin a war), consilium inīre (take a resolution)

You can fall into the trap of becoming too involved in what can be lists of definitions. When reading Latin, the best approach is to look at the use of a word in context (many good publications will provide notes) while bearing in mind the root meaning of the word.