ponere
/ˈpoː.nɛ.rɛ/
verb
Origin
Proto-Italic
*posine- — to put
Overview
Meaning Now
- To put, place, or set.
- To lay down or deposit.
- To establish, appoint, or constitute.
Literal older meaning
to put or place
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Italic → Latin
Earliest form
ponere
Earliest period
3rd century BC
Journey
The Latin verb 'ponere' is a high-frequency verb that underwent significant sound changes, eventually merging its prefix with the root. It serves as the ancestor for many Romance verbs meaning 'to put', such as Spanish 'poner' and Portuguese 'pôr'.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*po-sin-e-
“to place away”
Reconstructed root.
- Proto-Italic
*posinō
“to put/place”
Development from pre-Italic compound.
- Classical Latin
ponere
“to put, place”
Standard infinitive form.
- Vulgar Latin
ponere
“to put”
Phonetic reduction in late speech.
- Old Romance
poner/posare
“to place”
Development of competing forms.
- Modern Romance
poner (Spanish)
“to put”
Direct descendant of the Latin infinitive.
Connections
Word parts
po-
prefix
away or prefix variant
-sino
root
to lay down
Related across languages
Spanish
poner
to put
Portuguese
pôr
to put
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Related to ponere
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.