intellego

Latin

Alternative forms

• intelligō

Etymology

From inter (“between”) +‎ legō (“to select”), or from inter- +‎ Proto-Italic *legō (“to care”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /inˈtel.le.ɡoː/, [ɪn̪ˈt̪ɛlːʲɛɡoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈtel.le.ɡo/, [in̪ˈt̪ɛlːeɡo]

Verb

intellegō (present infinitive intellegere, perfect active intellēxī, supine intellēctum); third conjugation

1. to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know

   Synonym: tongeō

   • 63 B.C.E., Cicero, Catiline Orations (Latin text and English translations here), 1.2

     O tempora, o mores! Senatus haec intellegit, consul videt; hic tamen vivit. Vivit?

     Shame on the age and on its principles! The senate is aware of these things; the consul sees them; and yet this man lives. Lives!

2. to perceive, discern, see, observe, recognise; feel, notice

   Synonyms: agnōscō, cognōscō, inveniō, sentiō, cōnsciō, sapiō, sciō, nōscō, scīscō, percipiō, discernō, tongeō, cernō, audiō

   Antonyms: ignōrō, nesciō

Conjugation

Conjugation of intellegō (third conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	intellegō	intellegis	intellegit	intellegimus	intellegitis	intellegunt
	imperfect	intellegēbam	intellegēbās	intellegēbat	intellegēbāmus	intellegēbātis	intellegēbant
	future	intellegam	intellegēs	intelleget	intellegēmus	intellegētis	intellegent
	perfect	intellēxī	intellēxistī	intellēxit	intellēximus	intellēxistis	intellēxērunt, intellēxēre
	pluperfect	intellēxeram	intellēxerās	intellēxerat	intellēxerāmus	intellēxerātis	intellēxerant
	future perfect	intellēxerō	intellēxeris	intellēxerit	intellēxerimus	intellēxeritis	intellēxerint
passive	present	intellegor	intellegeris, intellegere	intellegitur	intellegimur	intellegiminī	intelleguntur
	imperfect	intellegēbar	intellegēbāris, intellegēbāre	intellegēbātur	intellegēbāmur	intellegēbāminī	intellegēbantur
	future	intellegar	intellegēris, intellegēre	intellegētur	intellegēmur	intellegēminī	intellegentur
	perfect	intellēctus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	intellēctus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	intellēctus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	intellegam	intellegās	intellegat	intellegāmus	intellegātis	intellegant
	imperfect	intellegerem	intellegerēs	intellegeret	intellegerēmus	intellegerētis	intellegerent
	perfect	intellēxerim	intellēxerīs	intellēxerit	intellēxerīmus	intellēxerītis	intellēxerint
	pluperfect	intellēxissem	intellēxissēs	intellēxisset	intellēxissēmus	intellēxissētis	intellēxissent
passive	present	intellegar	intellegāris, intellegāre	intellegātur	intellegāmur	intellegāminī	intellegantur
	imperfect	intellegerer	intellegerēris, intellegerēre	intellegerētur	intellegerēmur	intellegerēminī	intellegerentur
	perfect	intellēctus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	intellēctus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	intellege	—	—	intellegite	—
	future	—	intellegitō	intellegitō	—	intellegitōte	intelleguntō
passive	present	—	intellegere	—	—	intellegiminī	—
	future	—	intellegitor	intellegitor	—	—	intelleguntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		intellegere	intellēxisse	intellēctūrum esse	intellegī	intellēctum esse	intellēctum īrī
participles		intellegēns	—	intellēctūrus	—	intellēctus	intellegendus, intellegundus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		intellegendī	intellegendō	intellegendum	intellegendō	intellēctum	intellēctū

• Note: Perfect subjunctive sometimes of the form intellēg... rather than intellēx...
• Additional forms are:
  • indicative perfect: intellēxtī (instead of intellēxistī)
  • indicative perfect: intellēgit (instead of intellēxit)
  • conjunctive perfect: intellēgerint (instead of intellēxerint)
  • conjunctive pluperfect: intellēxēs (instead of intellēxissēs)

Derived terms

• intellegenter
• intellegentia
• intellegēns
• intelligibilis
• intellēctiō
• intellēctor
• intellēctus
• intellēctīvus

 

Related terms

• allegō
• colligō
• dīligō
• intellēctuālis
• intellēctuālitās
• legō
• neglegō
• perlegō
• praelegō
• relegō
• sublegō
• sēligō
• ēligō

 

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: ntsileg, ntsilegu, ntsãleg, ntsãlegu
  • Romanian: înțelege
  • → Proto-Albanian: *intellegɔnjœ
    • Old Albanian: ëndiglonj
      • Albanian: dëgjoj, digjoj; ndëgjoj, ndëgoj, dëlgoj, dëlgonj, diligonj, ngjoj; ndigoj, ngoj; endiglo; ëndiglonj
• Italo-Western Romance:
  • Old French: entelgir (10th c. Fragment de Valenciennes), entillier, antillier (Judeo-French)
    • Middle French: entiller
  • Romansch: encleger, entelgir, antalir, incleger
  • → Basque: indelgatu, entelegatu
• Learned borrowings:
  • → Dalmatian: inteliguar
  • → Portuguese: inteligir
  • → Spanish: inteligir

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “ĭntĕllĕgĕre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 4: G H I, page 739

Further reading

• “intellego”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “intellego”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• intellego in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • not to understand a single word: verbum prorsus nullum intellegere
    
  • what do we understand by 'a wise man': quem intellegimus sapientem?
    
  • what do we mean by 'virtue': quae intellegitur virtus
    
  • that is self-evident, goes without saying: hoc facile intellegi potest
    
  • that is self-evident, goes without saying: hoc per se intellegitur
    
  • from this it appears, is apparent: ex quo intellegitur or intellegi potest, debet