ignosco

Latin

Etymology

From in- (“after”) +‎ (g)nōscō (“to get to know”). The meaning developed from “subsequently realise” to “acknowledge” to “forgive”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /iɡˈnoːs.koː/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /iɲˈɲos.ko/,

Verb

ignōscō (present infinitive ignōscere, perfect active ignōvī, supine ignōtum); third conjugation

1. to forgive, pardon, excuse, overlook (with dative)

   Synonyms: parcō, remittō, āmittō, dōnō, dīmittō, perdōnō, condōnō

   ut sibi ignosceret ― in order that he would pardon them (Caesar, de Bello Gallico, VII, 12)

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 6.443–444:

     haurit aquās tollēnsque manūs, ‘ignōscite,’ dīxit
     ‘sacra! vir intrābō nōn adeundā virō.’

     He draws water, and lifting up his hands, says: “Forgive , sacred things! A man, I shall enter ought not be approached by a man.”
     (The Temple of Vesta afire, Lucius Caecilius Metellus (consul 251 BC) begs forgiveness from Vesta (mythology) prior to saving items from the flames.)

Usage notes

Takes the dative form of the person forgiven; in archaic Latin, can take the accusative.

Conjugation

Passive forms are not known except for the third-person singular.

¹The verb "nōscō" and its compounds frequently drop the syllables "vi" and "ve" from their perfect, pluperfect and future perfect conjugations.

Descendants

• Italian: ignoscere (archaic)
• Spanish: iñocer (archaic)

References

Further reading

• “ignosco”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ignosco”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ignosco in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.