percontor

Latin

Alternative forms

• percontō
• percū̆nctor

Etymology

Uncertain, suggestions include:

• from contus (“stick, pole; plummet”), as if "to probe, to feel the depth with a (long) pole";
• from cū̆nctor (this appears semantically unconvincing and more likely simply influenced by it, as in the Vulgar Latin derivative below, but compare Japanese 掛ける); (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)
• from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [pɛrˈkɔn.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [perˈkɔn.tor]

Verb

percontor (present infinitive percontārī or percontārier, perfect active percontātus sum); first conjugation, deponent

1. to inquire, investigate, interrogate, question strictly

   Synonyms: scīscitor, quaerō, scīscō, indāgō, requīrō, investīgō, interrogō, explōrō

   • 161 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Eunuchus 2.294–295:

     ubi quaeram, ubi investigem, quem perconter, quam insistam viam, incertus sum

     I do not know where I should look, where I should investigate, whom I should question, which path I should take

Conjugation

   Conjugation of percontor (first conjugation, deponent)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	percontor		percontāris, percontāre		percontātur		percontāmur		percontāminī		percontantur
	imperfect	percontābar		percontābāris, percontābāre		percontābātur		percontābāmur		percontābāminī		percontābantur
	future	percontābor		percontāberis, percontābere		percontābitur		percontābimur		percontābiminī		percontābuntur
	perfect	percontātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	percontātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	percontātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	perconter		percontēris, percontēre		percontētur		percontēmur		percontēminī		percontentur
	imperfect	percontārer		percontārēris, percontārēre		percontārētur		percontārēmur		percontārēminī		percontārentur
	perfect	percontātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	percontātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		percontāre		—		—		percontāminī		—
	future	—		percontātor		percontātor		—		—		percontantor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		percontārī, percontārier1			—			percontāns			—
future		percontātūrum esse			—			percontātūrus			percontandus
perfect		percontātum esse			—			percontātus			—
future perfect		percontātum fore			—			—			—
perfect potential		percontātūrum fuisse			—			—			—
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		percontandī		percontandō		percontandum		percontandō		percontātum		percontātū

¹The present passive infinitive in -ier is a rare poetic form which is attested.

Derived terms

• percontatiō
• percontativus
• percontātor
• percontatorius
• percontātrīx

Descendants

• Insular Romance:
  • Old Sardinian: percontare, precontare, pregontare, pregontari
    • Logudorese: pregontari
• Italo-Romance:
  • Sicilian: percuntari (Calabria)
• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *praecū̆nctāre (see there for further descendants)

Borrowings:

• → Italian: percontare
• ⇒ English: percontatorial

References

• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1985), “preguntar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Spanish), volume IV (Me–Re), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 635

Further reading

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