Deponent verbs

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hi!

I want to know why deponent verbs exist in latin language? How did they start to exist? Or, if it isn’t known, then maybe you have some idea on how they started to exist.

Thanks!

2

Salve Ivane!

I am no history-of-language buff, but a quick search on the internet gave the following link to a paper (PDF, 182 KB which has a section about this topic: 3.1 Genesis of Deponents: Organic or Analogous. I have given it only a brief glance, but it seems to fit your bill.

Vale,

Carolus Raeticus

3

Gratias tibi ago!

4

Verba deponentia delenda sunt…

5

Some deponent verbs likely started as a middle-and-passive form of some now-lost active verb. For example with “sequor” = “I follow” : Greek still has the active form: ‘hepo_’ = “I am engaged with”, “I am busy about” :: ‘hepomai’ = “I follow”.