inquam

== Latin == === Alternative forms === inquiō (Late Latin) === Etymology === Not entirely clear. Possibly from Old Latin *insquom, compare īnsece and īnseque (“say!”, imperative). From Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-t, the *h₁en-prefixed form of the aorist stem of Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”) that has been thematicized in both Latin and Ancient Greek ἐνέπω (enépō, “to tell”). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈɪŋ.kʷãː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈiŋ.kʷam] === Verb === inquam (perfect active inquiī); irregular conjugation, highly defective, no infinitive, no gerund to say Synonyms: aio, for, dīcō, loquor, alloquor, effor, oro ==== Usage notes ==== Used to introduce a quotation, platitude, or logical argument. ==== Conjugation ==== This verb is largely conjugated as if it were *inquiō (3rd conjugation) in present tenses and *inquō (also 3rd conjugation) in perfect tenses. However, there is an unusual first person singular present form inquam (cf. the athematic verb sum). This form is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-m̥, the 1st person singular indicative of the aorist stem Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-sékʷ-t. 1Medieval Latin. === References === === Further reading === “inquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “inquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “inquam”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.