# pedico
## Latin
### Alternative forms

* paedīcō

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /peːˈdiː.koː/, [peːˈd̪iːkoː]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /peˈdi.ko/, [peˈd̪iːko]

### Etymology 1

Widely considered to derive from Ancient Greek παιδῐκός (paidĭkós, “belonging to a (beloved) child”). Some notable sources that advocate for this etymology are Gerardus Vossius (Etymologicum Linguae Latinae, published 1662), and Ernout and Meillet (who account for the long ī by appealing to analogy with pudīcus (“chaste, pure, undefiled”) as an antonym, comparing dēpudīcō "dishonor, violate"). An alternative, less commonly accepted etymology derives the word instead from the same base as pōdex (“anus”) and pēdō (“to fart”).

#### Verb

pēdīcō (present infinitive pēdīcāre, perfect active pēdīcāvī, supine pēdīcātum); first conjugation
* (transitive, vulgar) to sodomize, assfuck, buttfuck, bugger (to engage in anal sex, taking the penetrating role)
** c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 16.1:Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo.I will sodomize you and facefuck you.
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata III.98:Sit culus tibi quam macer, requiris? Pedicare potes, Sabelle, culo.How thin an ass do you have, you ask? You can buttfuck, Sabellus, with your ass.
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata VII.67.5:Pēdīcat puerōs tribas Philaenis et tentīgine saevior marītī ūndēnās dolat in diē puellās.1993 translation by D. R. Shackleton BaileyLesbian Philaenis sodomizes boys and, more cruel than a husband’s lust, penetrates eleven girls per diem.
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata IX.69:Cum pedicaris, quid, Polycharme, facis?When you get buggered, what, Polycharmus, do you do?
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata XI.88:Multis iam, Lupe, posse se diebus Pedicare negat Charisianus. Causam cum modo quaererent sodales, Ventrem dixit habere se solutum.Lupus, Charisianus says that for many days now he has been unable to sodomise. When his mates just now asked him the reason, he said that he was suffering from the runs.
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata XI.104:Pedicare negas: dabat hoc Cornelia Graccho, Iulia Pompeio, Porcia, Brute, tibi; Dulcia Dardanio nondum miscente ministro Pocula Iuno fuit pro Ganymede Iovi.You withhold anal sex: this was given by Cornelia to Gracchus, by Julia to Pompey, by Porcia to you, Brutus; The Dardanian cup-bearer not yet mixing sweet drinks, Juno stood in for Ganymede to Jupiter.
** Priapea, Carmina Priapea 3.9:Obscure poteram tibi dicere 'da mihi [...] quod virgo prima cupido dat nocte marito, dum timet alterius vulnus inepta loci.' simplicius multo est 'da pedicare' Latine dicere [...[I could say to you cryptically 'Give me [...] what the virgin gives on the first night to the desirous husband while she foolishly fears the injury of another part' It is far simpler to say in Latin: 'Give me anal sex'

##### Usage notes

Based on the hypothesized derivation from Greek παῖς (paîs), the spelling paedico with the digraph ae came to be preferred in Renaissance-era critical editions of Latin texts. On the other hand, the spelling with ped- is attested epigraphically in Pompeiian graffiti, and is supported by a couple of passages in the Priapeia that allude to the pronunciation and spelling of the word. More recent critical editions largely opt for the spelling with ped-.
The difference in denotation between the three basic obscene Latin verbs for taking an 'active' role in sexual penetration, futuō (“to penetrate vaginally”), pēdīcō (“to penetrate anally, sodomize”), and irrumō (“to penetrate orally, facefuck”), depended on the orifice being penetrated rather than the gender of the one being penetrated. Thus, despite the hypothesis of an etymological link with παιδεραστία (paiderastía, “pederasty”), and potential connotational associations with a male object, this verb does not exclusively refer to homosexual activity: it could also be used of a man engaging in anal sex with a woman.
Pēdīcō can be used transitively with the penetrated party as its direct object, or intransitively with an implied object. As a rule, it cannot take the penetrated party as its subject when used in the active voice: 'to be anally penetrated' is expressed instead by the passive forms of this verb, or by the distinct verb cēveō. Taylor 1997:356 suggests that Martial 3.98 and 11.88 show the development of a broader sense where the active forms of the verb, used intransitively, could encompass either role in homosexual anal sex. However, there are other possible interpretations of the cited verses.

##### Derived terms

* pēdīcātiō
* pēdīcātor

### Etymology 2

From pēdīcō (“sodomize”) +‎ -ō.

#### Noun

pēdīcō m (genitive pēdīcōnis); third declension
* sodomiser, buggerer, buttfucker, assfucker
** 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata 9.33:Nīl miserābilius, Māthō, pēdīcōne Sabellō vīdistī, quō nīl laetius ante fuit. Fūrta, fugae, mortēs servōrum, incendia, luctūs afflīgunt hominem; iam miser et futuit.Nothing more miserable, Matho, than the sodomite Sabellus have you seen, than whom nothing was happier before. Robberies, fled slaves, deaths of servants, fires, bereavements have taken their toll on the man; now, poor thing, he even fornicates.

##### Declension

Third-declension noun.

### Notes

* ↑ Priapea 67 ("Penelopes primam Didonis prima sequatur / et primam Cadmi syllaba prima Remi, / quodque fit ex illis, tu mi deprensus in horto, / fur, dabis: hac poena culpa luenda tua est" says that the first syllables of the mentioned names, pe-di-ca-re, form the name of an orchard-thief's threatened punishment. Priapea 7 ("Cum loquor, una mihi peccatur littera; nam T / P dico semper blaesaque lingua mihi est") implies that the pronunciation of "pedico" differed from "te dico" only by starting with pē instead of tē; however, other editors here read "...nam prae / paedico semper...", seeing the pronunciation error as consisting of the omission of the letter R rather than the replacement of the letter T with P.

### References

* ↑ Loch, Marcin. 2019. "PEDICARE. Studium lingwistyczno-kulturowe z zakresu seksualności starożytnych Rzymian", page 134
* ↑ Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “paedīcō”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots‎ (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 474
* ↑ Loch, Marcin. 2019. pages 18-19
* ↑ Williams, Craig A. (2010) Roman Homosexuality, 2nd edition, JHU Press, →ISBN, pages 185-186
* ↑ Rabun Taylor (1997) “Two Pathic Subcultures in Ancient Rome”, in Journal of the History of Sexuality, volume 7, number 3, page 356

### Further reading

* “pedico”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* paedico in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.