percipio

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.

Proto-Italic *peri-

Latin per-

substratebor.?

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti

Proto-Italic *kapjō

Archaic Latin kapiō

Latin capiō

Latin percipiō

From per- (“through”) + capiō (“capture, seize; understand”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [pɛrˈkɪ.pi.oː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [perˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o]

Verb

percipiō (present infinitive percipere, perfect active percēpī, supine perceptum); third (-iō variant) conjugation

to seize or take on (entirely); assume; earn; occupy, keep (i.e. maintain control)
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.27:
  Cohortatus ut aliquando pro tantis laboribus fructum victoriae perciperent
  Exhorts them to finally seize the fruit of victory in exchange for their exertions
to perceive, observe, notice
Synonym: observō
to feel, perceive, take in
Synonyms: sapiō, sentiō, cernō, cōnspicor
- 106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 12.41:
  Quod quō magis intellegī posset, fingere animō iubēbat tantā incitātum aliquem voluptāte corporis, quanta percipī posset maxima; […] .
  In order that this might be more clearly understood, he would urge us to imagine someone incited by such great pleasure of the body, the greatest amount able to be felt; […] .
to learn, know, conceive, comprehend, understand
Synonyms: agnōscō, cognōscō, inveniō, sentiō, comperiō, cōnsciō, sapiō, sciō, nōscō, scīscō, intellegō, discernō, tongeō, cernō, audiō

Antonyms: ignōrō, nesciō
- 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.938:
  ‘causam percipe’ flāmen ait.
  ‘‘Understand the reason,’’ the flamen said.
  (Spoken by the Flamen Quirinalis; see also flamen.)

Conjugation

Note there is an old form percēpset for percēpisset.

Conjugation of percipiō (third (-iō variant) conjugation)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	percipiō	percipis		percipit	percipimus	percipitis		percipiunt
	imperfect	percipiēbam	percipiēbās		percipiēbat	percipiēbāmus	percipiēbātis		percipiēbant
	future	percipiam	percipiēs		percipiet	percipiēmus	percipiētis		percipient
	perfect	percēpī	percēpistī		percēpit	percēpimus	percēpistis		percēpērunt, percēpēre
	pluperfect	percēperam	percēperās		percēperat	percēperāmus	percēperātis		percēperant
	future perfect	percēperō	percēperis		percēperit	percēperimus	percēperitis		percēperint
passive	present	percipior	perciperis, percipere		percipitur	percipimur	percipiminī		percipiuntur
	imperfect	percipiēbar	percipiēbāris, percipiēbāre		percipiēbātur	percipiēbāmur	percipiēbāminī		percipiēbantur
	future	percipiar	percipiēris, percipiēre		percipiētur	percipiēmur	percipiēminī		percipientur
	perfect	perceptus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	perceptus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	perceptus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	percipiam	percipiās		percipiat	percipiāmus	percipiātis		percipiant
	imperfect	perciperem	perciperēs		perciperet	perciperēmus	perciperētis		perciperent
	perfect	percēperim	percēperīs		percēperit	percēperīmus	percēperītis		percēperint
	pluperfect	percēpissem	percēpissēs		percēpisset	percēpissēmus	percēpissētis		percēpissent
passive	present	percipiar	percipiāris, percipiāre		percipiātur	percipiāmur	percipiāminī		percipiantur
	imperfect	perciperer	perciperēris, perciperēre		perciperētur	perciperēmur	perciperēminī		perciperentur
	perfect	perceptus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	perceptus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	percipe		—	—	percipite		—
active	future	—	percipitō		percipitō	—	percipitōte		percipiuntō
passive	present	—	percipere		—	—	percipiminī		—
passive	future	—	percipitor		percipitor	—	—		percipiuntor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		percipere		percipī		percipiēns		—
future		perceptūrum esse		perceptum īrī		perceptūrus		percipiendus, percipiundus
perfect		percēpisse		perceptum esse		—		perceptus
future perfect		—		perceptum fore		—		—
perfect potential		perceptūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		percipiendī	percipiendō		percipiendum	percipiendō	perceptum		perceptū

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Catalan: percebre
Franco-Provençal: percêvre, percevêr
Italian: percevere (obsolete)
→ Italian: percepire (semi-learned)
Occitan: percebre
Old French: percevoir
- French: percevoir
- → English: perceive
Old Galician-Portuguese: perceber
- Galician: percibir
- Portuguese: perceber
Romanian: pricepe, pricepere; → percepe
Sicilian: pircipiri
Spanish: percibir

References

“percipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“percipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
“percipio”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- to be perceptible to the senses: sensibus percipi
- to derive (great) profit , advantage from a thing: fructum (uberrimum) capere, percipere, consequi ex aliqua re
- to derive pleasure from a thing: voluptatem ex aliqua re capere or percipere
- to have a thorough grasp of a subject: penitus percipere et comprehendere aliquid (De Or. 1. 23. 108)
- to take pleasure in a thing: laetitiam capere or percipere ex aliqua re
- to be vexed about a thing: dolorem capere (percipere) ex aliqua re
- to feel sorrow about a thing: luctum percipere ex aliqua re
- to reap: fructus demetere or percipere
percipio in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016