[1] per (through) + ferō > perferō: the prefix per- can convey the meaning of doing something all the way through i.e. [i] carry through; convey news i.e. get that news to somebody [ii] bear; endure to the end
[i]
tum lapis ipse
virī …nec spatium ēvāsit tōtum neque pertulit ictum (Virgil) │ Then that
very stone of the man … neither passed over the whole space nor carried
through a blow.
Interim ad
Labiēnum per Rēmōs incrēdibilī celeritāte dē victōriā Caesaris fāma perfertur
(Caesar) │ Meanwhile the report respecting the victory of Caesar is conveyed
to Labienus through the country of the Remi with incredible speed [i.e. the new
isn’t merely announced to Labienus, but brought to him]
[ii] nec quae
fugit sectāre, nec miser vīve, / sed obstinātā mente perfer, obdūrā
(Catullus) │ do not keep chasing one who flees, do not live miserably, / but endure
with a resolute mind, harden yourself.
[2] prō (in front
of) + ferō > prōferō: [i] bring out; expose; [ii] put off; adjourn
'Prōfer,
Galla, caput.' 'Nōlī vexāre, quiēscit.' (Juvenal) │ 'Bring out your
head, Galla.' 'Don't disturb her, she's resting.'
[i]
Argentārius nummōs
ex arcā prōfert. │ The moneychanger produces coins from the box.
[ = He brings them out in front of him.]
Massiliēnsēs arma
ex oppidō prōferunt. │ The Massilians bring their weapons out of
the town.
[ii] quod sī
laxius volent prōferre diem, poterunt vel bīduum vel trīduum vel ut
vidēbitur (Cicero) │ But, if they want
to put off
the date still
further, they can do so two or
three days or as much as they like
[think of the opposite English expression: Can we bring the
meeting forward to Tuesday?]
[3]
Briefly to return to the use of dictionaries, it is common practice in the most
authoritative works to list examples of the different meanings any word may
have. This, however, from a learner’s perspective, can be misleading since
there may only be a handful of instances where Roman authors have used
the word in that specific sense.
sufferō (or subferō) is a case in point where its compound rarely occurs in a literal sense, but that definition will be included in the dictionary because it is evident in a few isolated cases; sufferō is far more common in its abstract sense:
sufferō: [i] carry / lay under; [ii] suffer; bear; endure
imbrem perpetiar, labōrem sufferam, sōlem, sitim (Plautus) │ the torrents of rain I'll submit to; labour, heat, and thirst, will I endure
nec poterant pariter dūrum sufferre labōrem (Lucretius) │ and they were able to endure, like copper, hard labour
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