Etymology: Latin; perhaps agent-n. < lig-, root of ligāre to bind.
Roman Hist.
a. An officer whose functions were to attend upon a magistrate, bearing the fasces before him, and to execute sentence of judgement upon offenders. A dictator had twenty-four lictors, a consul twelve.
1382—1843
b. transf.
1638—1883
Derivatives
† licˈtorian adj. Obs. pertaining to a lictor.
1656—1656
And that got me thinking about other words I like.
Like the word "ken", the first verb definition.
Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English cęnnan (cęnde, cęnned) = Frisian kanna, kenna, Old Saxon (ant)kennian (Middle Dutch and Dutch kennen), Old High German (ir-, in-, pi-) chennan (Middle High German and German kennen), Old Norse kenna (Swedish känna, Danish kjende, kende), Gothic kannjan, factitive of the preterite-present *kann-, I know: see can v.1
The form is properly causative ‘to cause to know’, ‘to make known’, and was restricted to this use in Gothic and Old English At an early period, however, in all the Germanic tongues, the verb also acquired the sense ‘to know’. In English this may have been taken from Norse, in which both senses were in early use. In modern English ken is only archaic (in sense 6) and has its past tense and past participle kenned (compare pen, penned); in Scots (where it has entirely displaced knaw ‘to know’) the past tense and participle are now kent; south Scots kend.
I. In causative senses. (All Obs.)
II. In non-causative senses.†1. trans. To make known, declare, confess, acknowledge. Obs.
c975—c1275
†2.
a. To make known, to impart the knowledge of (a thing). Usually with dat. of person (or to): To make a thing known to one; to teach one something. Obs.
a1225—c1430
†b. With clause expressing what is made known or taught, the dat. of the person being later taken as direct obj., and so as subject of passive. Obs.
a1225—?a1500
†c. to ken thank : to make known or express thanks: = can v.1 10, con v.1 4. Obs.
c1440—a1566
†3.
a. To direct, teach, or instruct (a person). Obs.
a1300—c1540
†b. with inf. compl.: To teach one, show one how to do something. Obs.
1362—a1529
†c. absol. To give instruction or directions.
c1330—1393
†4.
a. To direct, guide, show the way to (unto, till) a place or person. Obs.
c1200—c1560
†b. intr. and refl. To direct one's course, betake oneself, proceed, go. Obs.
c1275—c1320
†5. trans. To consign, commend, deliver, bestow. Obs.
a1300—c1440
6.
a. To descry, see; to catch sight of, discover by sight; to look at, scan. Now only arch.
c1275—1880
b. absol. To see, look. Obs. or arch.
1577—1755
7.
a. To recognize (at sight, or by some marks or tokens); to identify. Now north. or Sc.
c1275—1901
b. To (be able to) distinguish (one person or thing from another). Now Sc.
c1340—1901
†8.
a. To recognize, acknowledge, admit to be (genuine, valid, or what is claimed). Obs.
c1400—1489
b. Sc. Law. To recognize (a person) as legal heir or successor to an estate; usually, to serve a widow to a life-rent of the third part of her deceased husband's lands.
1468—1808
†9. To get to know, ascertain, find out. Obs.
c1330—1586
10. To know (a person); to have acquaintance with; to be acquainted with. Now Sc.
c1420—1901
11.
12. a. To know (a thing); to have knowledge of or about (a thing, place, person, etc.), to be acquainted with; †to understand. Now chiefly Sc.
c1330—1879
b. To know, understand, or perceive (a fact, etc.); to be aware of, to be aware that (what, etc.). Now chiefly Sc.
a1400—1865
c. With compl. (Chiefly in pass.) Now Sc.
a1300—1869
a. intr. or absol. To have knowledge (of or about something). †Also with inf.: To know how to, to be able to (obs.).
c1400—1816
†b. refl. To have skill; to be accomplished in. (= French se connaître en.) Obs. rare.
1362—c1450
Archaic, my eye; I use it every chance I get, though I suspect that lictor will be a lot harder to work into casual conversation.
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