caveo

Latin

Cave canem
Beware of the dog

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *kawēō, from earlier *kawējō, from Proto-Italic stative *(s)kewh₁-éh₁-(ye)-ti, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (“to perceive, pay attention”).

Cognate with Ancient Greek κοέω (koéō), Sanskrit कवि (kaví, “wise, poet, seer, sage”), Lithuanian kavoti (“safeguard, tend”), Russian чу́ять (čújatʹ), Old Armenian ցուցանեմ (cʻucʻanem, “I show”), English show.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈka.u̯e.oː/, [ˈkäu̯eoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.ve.o/, [ˈkäːveo]

Verb

caveō (present infinitive cavēre, perfect active cāvī, future participle cautūrus); second conjugation

1. to take precautions, beware, take care; to guard against, attend to a thing for a person, provide

   Synonyms: cūrō, accūrō, servō, videō, cōnsulō, prōcūrō, colō, cōnsultō

   Caveat emptor.

   Buyer beware.

   1. (with accusative) to beware of, keep away from, avoid
      • c. 27 CE – 66 CE, Petronius, Satyricon 29:

        Cave canem.

        Beware of the dog.

2. (with ablative, with dative, with ab, with cum, with nē, with ut) to guard against, to be on one's guard against, to take care that (not)
   1. (imperative) beware not to!, refrain from!, make sure that not, mind that you don't!

      Cave sīs tē videam!

      Make sure I don't see you again!

      • c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 50.13–14:

        Nunc audāx cave sīs, precēsque nostrās/ōrāmus, cave dēspuās, ocelle!

        Beware of being haughty now, I beg you, and don't reject my desperate request, my jewel!

3. (with dative) to look out in the interests of
4. (law) to make legal provisions (for or against), to order, decree, stipulate
5. (law) to give surety or guarantees, to secure bail; to pledge, certify
   1. (with ab) to procure bail or surety from

Usage notes

The primary sense ("beware") may either govern a noun in the accusative or a subjunctive clause joined with nē, with the meaning "beware not to, make sure that you don't". However, the latter use became idiomatic early on with the particle nē omitted. In either case, the semantically-weakened cavĕ regularly has a short final vowel through iambic shortening. C.f. the parallel positive vidĕ (“see that, make sure to”).

Conjugation

   Conjugation of caveō (second conjugation)

indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	caveō	cavēs	cavet	cavēmus	cavētis	cavent
	imperfect	cavēbam	cavēbās	cavēbat	cavēbāmus	cavēbātis	cavēbant
	future	cavēbō	cavēbis	cavēbit	cavēbimus	cavēbitis	cavēbunt
	perfect	cāvī	cāvistī, cāstī1	cāvit, cāt1	cāvimus, cāmus1	cāvistis, cāstis1	cāvērunt, cārunt, cāvēre1
	pluperfect	cāveram, cāram1	cāverās, cārās1	cāverat, cārat1	cāverāmus, cārāmus1	cāverātis, cārātis1	cāverant, cārant1
	future perfect	cāverō, cārō1	cāveris, cāris1	cāverit, cārit1	cāverimus, cārimus1	cāveritis, cāritis1	cāverint, cārint1
passive	present	caveor	cavēris, cavēre	cavētur	cavēmur	cavēminī	caventur
	imperfect	cavēbar	cavēbāris, cavēbāre	cavēbātur	cavēbāmur	cavēbāminī	cavēbantur
	future	cavēbor	cavēberis, cavēbere	cavēbitur	cavēbimur	cavēbiminī	cavēbuntur
	perfect	cautus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	cautus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	cautus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	caveam	caveās	caveat	caveāmus	caveātis	caveant
	imperfect	cavērem	cavērēs	cavēret	cavērēmus	cavērētis	cavērent
	perfect	cāverim, cārim1	cāverīs, cārīs1	cāverit, cārit1	cāverīmus, cārīmus1	cāverītis, cārītis1	cāverint, cārint1
	pluperfect	cāvissem, cāssem1	cāvissēs, cāssēs1	cāvisset, cāsset1	cāvissēmus, cāssēmus1	cāvissētis, cāssētis1	cāvissent, cāssent1
passive	present	cavear	caveāris, caveāre	caveātur	caveāmur	caveāminī	caveantur
	imperfect	cavērer	cavērēris, cavērēre	cavērētur	cavērēmur	cavērēminī	cavērentur
	perfect	cautus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	cautus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	cavē	—	—	cavēte	—
	future	—	cavētō	cavētō	—	cavētōte	caventō
passive	present	—	cavēre	—	—	cavēminī	—
	future	—	cavētor	cavētor	—	—	caventor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		cavēre	cāvisse, cāsse1	cautūrum esse	cavērī	cautum esse	cautum īrī
participles		cavēns	—	cautūrus	—	cautus	cavendus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		cavendī	cavendō	cavendum	cavendō	cautum	cautū

¹At least one rare poetic syncopated perfect form is attested.

Derived terms

• cautē
• cautēla
• cautim
• cautiō
• cautor
• cautulus
• cautus
• praecaveō

 

Related terms

• cautionalis
• cautulus
• incaute
• incautela
• incautus
• percautus
• praecatus
• praecautio

 

Descendants

• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *cavicare
  • Old French: chuer
    • French: choyer

References

• “caveō” on page 315 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)
• “caveo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “caveo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• caveo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to prescribe in one's will: testamento aliquid cavere (Fin. 2. 31)