LOGOI

The corpus record — Latin

venio

venio

to come

Generated live from the audited Latin corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

The life of the word — written from the record; every claim drawn from it

Venio (WEH-nee-oh, "I come") is one of the great high-frequency verbs of Latin, and the record bears that out: 11,700 occurrences across 352 works — a word that lives everywhere Latin is written. The heaviest concentrations, by the counts the record keeps, are in history and correspondence. The Ab urbe condita ("From the Founding of the City") leads with 1,377, followed by the Letters to Atticus (576), the Naturalis Historia ("Natural History," 358), the Epistulae ad Familiares ("Letters to Friends," 333), the Res Gestae ("Things Done," 323), and In C. Verrem ("Against Verres," 272). Narrative and letters — the genres of arrival, movement, and report — are its home.

The lexicon keeps the sense plain because it is not in doubt. Lewis & Short (A Latin Dictionary, 1879) glosses venio simply as "to come," listing it as a fourth-conjugation verb with perfect veni and supine ventum, and preserving old and rarer forms: the archaic future venibo, the imperfect venibat in Terence, and the syncopated genitive plural participle venientum ("of those coming").

For etymology proper, one pointer is matched in the record. Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine (DELL, 1932; 4th ed. 1959), treats the verb under the spelling uenio (scan p. 355, entry #5574). The record names the entry without printing its reasoning, so the derivation there is signposted rather than quoted — an honest gap the biography will not fill from outside.

The cited surfaces are all from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, books 1–2, and they show the verb doing its ordinary work in every tense and mood — venit ("he comes" / "he came"), venire ("to come"), venisse ("to have come"), venirent ("that they should come"), venisset ("if he had come"), veniam ("I shall come"). No single famous line stands out; the word's weight is simply its ubiquity.

If a word means only "to come," why does the whole history of Rome need it eleven thousand times?

Witnesses: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary · Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine (DELL, 1932; 4th ed. 1959)

Where it lives

Densest 12 of 352 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

vĕnĭo — Lewis & Short

vĕnĭo, vēni, ventum, 4 (

I fut. venibo, Pompon. ap. Non. 508, 23; imperf. venibat, Ter. Phorm. 4, 3, 47; gen. plur, part. sync. venientum, Verg. G. 4, 167; id. A. 1, 434; 6, 755), v. n. Sanscr. root gā, go; Zend root gā, gam, go; Gr. *b*a-, bai/nw; Lat. ar-biter, venio; Goth. quiman; O. H. Germ. quëman, koman; Engl. come; v. Georg Curtius Gr. Etym. p. 466, to come (cf. accedo).
I Lit.: nunc, cujus jussu venio et quam ob rem venerim, Dicam, etc., Plaut. Am. prol. 17: veni, vidi, vici, Suet. Caes. 37: imus, venimus, videmus. Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 53: maritimus hostis ante adesse potest quam quisquam venturum esse suspicari queat, etc., Cic. Rep. 2, 3, 6: venio ad macellum, Plaut. Aul. 2, 8, 3: ut veni ad urbem, etc., Cic. Fam. 16, 12, 2: cupio, te ad me venire, id. ib. 16, 10, 1; Plaut. As. 2, 4, 2: mihi si spatium fuerit in Tusculanum veniendi, Cic. Fam. 9, 5, 3: Cato ... cum venerat ad se in Sabinos, had come home, id. Rep. 3, 28, 40: quia nudius quartus venimus in Cariam ex Indiā, Plaut. Curc. 3, 68: sexto die Delum Athenis venimus, Cic. Att. 5, 12, 1: Italiam fato profugus, Laviniaque venit Litora, Verg. A. 1, 2: tumulum antiquae Cereris sedemque sacratam Venimus, id. ib. 2, 743 (cf. devenio): vin' ad te ad cenam veniam, Plaut. Stich. 3, 2, 30: mercator venit huc ad ludos, id. Cist. 1, 3, 9: homo ad praetorem deplorabundus venit, id. Aul. 2, 4, 38: neque ego te derisum venio neque derideo, id. ib. 2, 2, 46: ad istum emptum venerunt illum locum senatorium, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 50, § 124.—With inf.: parasitus modo venerat aurum petere, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 3, 18: non nos Libycos populare penates Venimus, Verg. A. 1, 528.— Of inanimate subjects: navis huc ex portu Persico Venit, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 249: denique in os salsi venit umor saepe saporis, Cum mare vorsamur propter, Lucr. 4, 220: (aër) Per patefacta venit penetratque foramina, id. 4, 891: (speculi imago) Dum venit ad nostras acies, id. 4, 279: sub aspectum venire, Cic. de Or. 2, 87, 358: in conspectu, Caes. B. C. 2, 27: in conspectum, Hirt. B. G. 8, 48; Cic. Fin. 1, 7, 24: muliebris vox mihi ad aures venit, Plaut. Rud. 1, 4, 13; in Italiā te moraturum, dum tibi litterae meae veniant, reaches you, Cic. Fam. 11, 24, 2: hereditas unicuique nostrum venit, comes, i. e. descends to each of us, id. Caecin. 26, 74; cf.: hic Verres hereditatem sibi venisse arbitratus est, quod in ejus regnum ac manus venerat is, quem, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 27, § 62: hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvae, come forth, i. e. grow, Verg. G. 1, 54; so, arbores sponte suā, id. ib. 2, 11; 2, 58; Prop. 1, 2, 10. —
(b) Impers. pass., we, they, etc., came or have come, etc.: Lilybaeum venitur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 54, § 141: ad me ventum est, it has fallen to me, id Quint. 1, 3: dum ad flumen Varum veniatur, Caes. B. C. 1, 87: (Galli) veniri ad se confestim existimantes, ad arma conclamant, id. B. G. 7, 70: ventum in insulam est, Cic. Leg. 2, 3, 6: ubi eo ventum est, Caes. B. G. 1, 43: ad quos ventum erat, id. ib. 2, 11; 3, 23: eo cum esset ventum, id. ib. 7, 61.—
B Esp., to come. spring, be descended: qui se Bebryciā veniens Amyci de gente ferebat (i. e. qui se ferebat venientem, etc.), Verg. A. 5, 373 Forbig. ad loc. —
II Trop.
A In gen.: vides, quo progrediente oratione venturum me puto, Cic. Rep. 1, 40, 62. ut jam a principio videndum sit, quemadmodum velis venire ad extremum orationis, id. Or. 59, 201: contra rem suam me nescio quando venisse questus est, that I appeared, id. Phil. 2, 2, 3: contra amici summam existimationem, id. Att. 1, 1, 4: si rem nullam habebis, quod in buccam venerit, scribito, id. ib. 1, 12, 4; v. bucca: si quid in mentem veniet, id. ib. 12, 36, 1.—So in Cic. with nom. only of neutr. pron. or res; but freq. impers. with gen.: cum matronarum ac virginum veniebat in mentem, when I thought of, Cic. Sull. 6, 19: venit enim mihi in mentem oris tui, id. Rosc. Am. 34, 95; id. Sull. 14, 38; v. also mens, II. B. fin. and the passages there cited: oratorum laus ita ducta ab humili venit ad summum, ut, etc., id. Tusc. 2, 2, 5: prava ex falsis opinionibus veniunt, Quint. 5, 10, 34: vitium pejus, quod ex inopiā, quam quod ex copiā venit, id. 2, 4, 4: non omne argumentum undique venit, id. 5, 10, 21.—With dat.: existimabunt majus commodum ex otio meo quam ex aliorum negotiis reipublicae venturum, Sall. J. 4, 4; 8, 2: ubi ea dies, quam constituerat cum legatis, venit, Caes. B. G. 1, 8; so, dies, id. ib. 7, 3: tempus victoriae, id. ib. 7, 66; cf.: suum tempus eorum laudi, Quint. 3, 1, 21: non sumus omnino sine curā venientis anni, for the coming year, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 4, 4: exemplum trahens Perniciem veniens in aevum, Hor. C. 3, 5, 16: veniens aetas, the future, Ov. F. 6, 639.—Of events, to come, i. e. to happen: quod hodie venit, Tac. A. 14, 43.—
B In partic.
1 Venire in aliquid (rarely ad aliquid; v. infra), to come into, fall into any state or condition (so esp. freq.): venisse alicui in amicitiam, to have obtained one's friendship or alliance, Caes. B. G. 6, 5, 4: in calamitatem, Cic. Rosc. Am. 17, 49: in cognitionem alicujus, Quint. 7, 2, 20: in consuetudinem, Cic. Caecin. 2, 6; cf.: quaedam in consuetudinem ex utilitatis ratione venerunt, id. Inv. 2, 53, 160: in proverbii consuetudinem, id. Off. 2, 15, 55.—Of a personal subject: (milites) qui in consuetudinem Alexandrinae vitae venerant, Caes. B. C. 3, 110: ut non solum hostibus in contemptionem Sabinus veniret, sed, etc., had fallen into contempt, id. B. G. 3, 17: in contentionem, etc., Cic. Div. 2, 63, 129: si falso venisses in suspitionem, P. Sestio, id. Vatin. 1, 2: summum in cruciatum, Caes. B. G. 1, 31: aut in controversiam aut in contentionem, Quint. 3, 6, 44: in discrimen, Cic. Rosc. Am. 6, 16: in dubium, id. Quint. 2, 5: in alicujus fidem ac potestatem, to place one's self under the protection and in the power of a person, to surrender at discretion, Caes. B. G. 2, 13: ne in odium veniam, Cic. Fin. 2, 24, 79; cf.: Tarquinii nomen huic populo in odium venisse regium, id. Rep. 1, 40, 62: ipse illi perditae multitudini in odium acerbissimum venerit, id. Att. 10, 8, 6: in eam opinionem Cassius veniebat, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 10, 2: in partem alicujus, to take part in it, Cic. Fam. 14, 2, 3: in periculum, Caes. B. C. 1, 17: in sermonem alicujus, i. e. to enter into conversation, Cic. Att. 14, 1, 1; and in another sense: cum loquerer cum Phaniā, veni in eum sermonem, ut dicerem, etc., I happened to say that, id. Fam. 3, 5, 3: nonnullam in spem veneram, posse me, etc., id. de Or. 2, 54, 217: summam in spem per Helvetios regni obtinendi venire, to entertain hopes, to hope, Caes. B. G. 1, 18.— Esp. with res as subject, the affair came to, reached the point, etc.: res proxime formam latrocinii venerat, Liv. 2, 48, 5; 2, 56, 5: res venit prope secessionem, id. 6, 42, 10. ad ultimum dimicationis rati rem venturam, id. 2, 56, 5: cum speramus eo rem venturam, ut, etc., Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 226.—Impers.: saepe in eum locum ventum est, ut, etc., to such a point that, Caes. B. G. 6, 43; Liv. 7, 30, 9.—
(b) Ad aliquid: bene agis, Alba; ad tuam veniam condicionem, will accept, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 62, § 146: ad summum fortunae, to attain, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 32.—
2 In speaking, to come to a topic: ut jam a fabulis ad facta veniamus, Cic. Rep. 2, 2, 4: ut ad fabulas veniamus, id. Rosc. Am. 16, 46: venio ad tertiam epistulam, id. Q. Fr. 3, 14, 12: venio ad recentiores litteras, id. Att. 14, 19, 5: ad Arcesilam Carneademque veniamus, id. Ac. 2, 4, 12: venio nunc ad tertium genus illud, etc., id. Rep. 3, 33, 45: ad istius morbum et insaniam, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 1, § 1 al.

In the wild

6 of 11,700 attestations shown.

Where it came from

  • Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine Treated in Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine s.v. uenio (scan p. 355; entry #5574).

Latin text and lemmatization derived from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit), CC BY-SA 4.0. Lewis & Short (public domain) via Perseus. This derived data is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license.