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Q&A How did 'repraesentāre' semantically shift to signify 'standing in the place of another'?

To wit, how does "present again, bring back" (in repraesentāre) semantically appertain to the notion of 'standing in the place of another'? represent [14] English borrowed represent from Latin...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology Latin
#3: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2021-08-11T09:04:07Z (over 2 years ago)
  • How did "represent" semantically shift to signify "standing in the place of another"?
  • How did 'repraesentāre' semantically shift to signify 'standing in the place of another'?
  • >### represent [14]
  • >English borrowed represent
  • from Latin _repraesentāre_, which meant ‘present
  • again, bring back’, hence ‘show’. It was a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_
  • ‘back, again’ and _praesentāre_, source of English _present_. The notion of ‘standing in the place of
  • another’ is a post-classical development.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column. Ayto doesn't expound this semantic shift.
  • To wit, how does "present again, bring back" (in _repraesentāre_) semantically appertain to the notion of 'standing in the place of another'?
  • >### represent [14]
  • >
  • >English borrowed _represent_
  • from Latin _repraesentāre_, which meant ‘present
  • again, bring back’, hence ‘show’. It was a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_
  • ‘back, again’ and _praesentāre_, source of English _present_. The notion of ‘standing in the place of
  • another’ is a post-classical development.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column. Ayto doesn't expound this semantic shift.
#2: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2021-03-26T00:08:50Z (about 3 years ago)
  • >### represent [14]
  • >English borrowed represent
  • from Latin _repraesentāre_, which meant ‘present
  • again, bring back’, hence ‘show’. It was a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_
  • ‘back, again’ and _praesentāre_, source of English_ present_. The notion of ‘standing in the place of
  • another’ is a post-classical development.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column. Ayto doesn't expound this semantic shift.
  • >### represent [14]
  • >English borrowed represent
  • from Latin _repraesentāre_, which meant ‘present
  • again, bring back’, hence ‘show’. It was a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_
  • ‘back, again’ and _praesentāre_, source of English _present_. The notion of ‘standing in the place of
  • another’ is a post-classical development.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column. Ayto doesn't expound this semantic shift.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2021-03-25T23:47:06Z (about 3 years ago)
How did "represent" semantically shift to signify "standing in the place of another"? 
>### represent [14] 

>English borrowed represent
from Latin _repraesentāre_, which meant ‘present
again, bring back’, hence ‘show’. It was a
compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_
‘back, again’ and _praesentāre_, source of English_ present_. The notion of ‘standing in the place of
another’ is a post-classical development.

*Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column. Ayto doesn't expound this semantic shift.