Alternative forms

• traō (11th century)
• tragō (Early Medieval Latin)

Etymology

UnclearCategory:Latin terms with unknown etymologies#TRAHO. The -h- would normally correspond to Proto-Indo-European *-ǵʰ- or *-gʰ- (compare veho, from Proto-Italic *weɣō, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-).

A relationship with Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to drag, draw”) is debated, since Latin initial t- and Germanic initial *d- is not a usual correspondence. Some consider it impossible for both to be inherited from a common Proto-Indo-European root^[1][2] (though De Vaan thinks they could be related as loans from some common non-Indo-European source).^[2]

Others derive both from a Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#TRAHO or post-PIE root *dʰragʰ-,^[3] with Latin showing a controversial dissimilation to *dragʰ- (Weiss treats the liquid after the first stop as an essential condition for this "Limited Latin Grassmann's Law"), followed by devoicing of dr to tr (a more generally accepted sound change).^[4][5] Schrijver argues that the presence of -ā- in the perfect stem and in some related forms such as trāgula is a sure sign of an original laryngeal in the root, and proposes *dʰr(e)Hgʰ- as a possible form.^[4]

De Vaan reconstructs a non-Indo-European (substrateCategory:Latin terms derived from substrate languages#TRAHO) root *trHgʰ- or *trā̆gʰ-, borrowed into Italic and Celtic, as a potential source of both Latin trahō and Old Irish tethraig (“ran away, receded”), Welsh traul (“trouble, weakness; cost, expense”) < Proto-Celtic *trāglo-.^[2]

Other possible cognates include

• Proto-Celtic *tregess (“foot”), Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þragjan, “to run”), Proto-Slavic *tragъ, but semantically problematic.
• Latin tergus (“back, rear”)/Latin tergum, Ancient Greek τρέχω (trékhō), Proto-Germanic *trekaną (“to push, drag, scratch”), *trudaną (“to tread, to step on”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtra.(ɦ)oː]Category:Latin 2-syllable words#TRAHOCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#TRAHO
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtraː.o]Category:Latin 2-syllable words#TRAHOCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#TRAHO

Verb

trahō (present infinitive trahere, perfect active trāxī, supine tractum)Category:Latin lemmas#TRAHOCategory:Latin verbs#TRAHOCategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#TRAHOCategory:Pages with entries#TRAHOCategory:Pages with 1 entry#TRAHO; third conjugation

1. to drag, pull

   Synonyms: efferō, portō, ferō, gerō, vehō, addūcō

2. to trail
3. to extract, withdraw, derive, take away
   • c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.2.2:

     Certīs ingeniīs immorārī et innūtrīrī oportet, sī velīs aliquid trahere quod in animō fidēliter sedeat.

     You must linger among certain distinguished writers, and nourish yourself [upon their books], if you wish to derive anything that will be held reliably in your mind.
     (Note the possible dual meaning: initially to extract words or meaning from a text, and also to ponder something memorable.)

     Category:Latin terms with quotations#TRAHO
4. to plunder, squander

   Synonyms: dēpraedor, praedor, dīripiō, populor, expugnō, agō

5. to draw out, extend, lengthen, prolong

   Synonyms: extendō, distendō, pandō, prōlongō, porrigō, prōferō, explicō, prōtrahō

6. (of time) to protract, drag out, linger

   Synonyms: retardō, moror, cū̆nctor, tardō, prōtrahō, dubitō, extrahō, differō

   Antonyms: ruō, accurrō, currō, festīnō, prōvolō, properō, corripiō, affluō, mātūrō

7. to weigh, ponder, consider

   Synonyms: cōnsīderō, dubitō, ponderō, pendō, perpendō, dēlīberō, circumspiciō, cōnsultō, putō, reputō, videō

8. (figuratively) to attract, draw (someone; their attention)
9. (by extension) to attract the support of, sway, win over

   Synonyms: persuādeō, convincō, perpellō, flectō, admoneō

   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:

     Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam ciuitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita recepta inclinatura rursus animos uidebatur ad ueteris imperii respectum.

     This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerful, in the same way that it had attracted the support of a number of communities by its revolt, was thought would again turn attention back towards respect for the previous government once recaptured.

     Category:Latin terms with quotations#TRAHO

References

Further reading

• “traho”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “traho”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “traho”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to trace one's descent from some one: originem ab aliquo trahere, ducere
    
  • to be guided by ambition: laudis studio trahi
    
  • to feel an attraction for study: litterarum studio trahi
    
  • to feel an attraction for study: trahi, ferri ad litteras
    
  • to protract, prolong a war: bellum ducere, trahere, extrahere
    

  Category:Latin words in Meissner and Auden's phrasebook