timeo

Etymology

Of uncertain origin.^[1] One theory which links the term to Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark”) (for which compare tenebrae, tēmulentus) is semantically reasonable, but phonetically difficult. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Compare Sanskrit तिम्यति (timyati, “to be quiet; to become quiet”), with matching conjugation and verb-of-fearing semantics (i.e. "is/becomes quiet" in place of usual "makes quiet").

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈti.me.oː/, [ˈt̪ɪmeoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈti.me.o/, [ˈt̪iːmeo]

Verb

timeō (present infinitive timēre, perfect active timuī); second conjugation, no supine stem

1. (transitive) to fear, be afraid of, apprehend, be apprehensive of

   Synonyms: metuō, trepidō

   • c. 50 BCE, Publilius Syrus, Sententiae :

     Stultum est timere, quod vitare non potest.

     Fearing what cannot be avoided is foolish.

   • A phrase generally attributed to Thomas Aquinas.

     Hominem unius libri timeo.

     I fear the man of one book.

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.48:

     Equo ne credite, Teucri! Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.

     Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Danaans and the gifts they are bearing.

2. (intransitive) to be afraid, to fear, to be apprehensive

   Synonyms: extimēscō, vereor

References

Further reading

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