distribuere

Distributuere is a Latin verb meaning to distribute, allocate, apportion, or scatter. It comes from the prefix dis- (apart, in different directions) and tribuere (to grant or assign), forming a core sense of dividing a whole into parts and assigning them to recipients or places. The verb belongs to the third conjugation, and its principal parts are distribuo, distribuere, distribui, distributum. The present infinitive is distribuere.

In classical and post-classical Latin, distribuere is used with direct objects representing what is being distributed and with expressions indicating recipients or destinations. Examples include distributing money (distribuere pecuniam), distributing grain to soldiers (distribuere frumentum militibus), or distributing duties among officials (munera distribuere inter magistratus). It can also carry the sense of spreading or disseminating something, such as distributing wisdom, light, or goods across a region.

Related formations include distributio (distribution, dispersion), distributus (distributed, having been allocated), and distributivus (distributive in a grammatical or mathematical sense in later usage). The verb occurs across genres, from legal and administrative texts to rhetoric and poetry, wherever there is a need to allot portions or spread resources.

Cognate forms appear in the Romance languages, reflecting the same root: Italian distribuire, Spanish distribuir, French distribuer, Portuguese distribuir, Romanian distribui. In English, the root appears in loanwords such as distribution, distributive, and distributor, all tracing back to Latin distributio or distribuo.

Overall, distribuere conveys the deliberate division and assignment of parts of a whole to different recipients, places, or purposes, whether in material, informational, or metaphorical contexts.