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What would be a good Latin verb for networking? I don't mean the study of computer networks, but the verb "to network" in the sense of making new acquaintances for business or other purpose. In Finnish one would use "verkostoitua" (roughly "to make oneself entangled in a system of webs"), and I was hoping there would be a Latin verb for the same purpose. Which verb would you recommend and why? If there is a very suitable noun, please share it, although I am mainly looking for a verb.

I am not sure if there is good classical precedent, so I am not restricting this question to attested use in classical Latin. I'm looking for something that would be useful in today's world. The tone can be anything; if the word you suggest has a pejorative or some other connotation, please tell.

A simple and straightforward option is nexus facere. I would like something like nectari better, if the derivative is right. (Perhaps nectitari?) For some reason passive — or rather middle — sounds more natural to me than active. Perhaps one could derive something from rete, but I can't think of a natural way to put it.

For searchability, let me repeat the main question in Finnish: Miten sanotaan "verkostoitua" latinaksi?

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  • Yes, that ought to clarify it. A verb for this has simply got to appear in a Roman comedy somewhere. Even the medievals must have had a need for a verb for this. Maybe remove the vita-hodierna tag?
    – Ben Kovitz
    Commented Apr 22, 2017 at 0:44
  • @BenKovitz I would assume there was a word for it. But it could be that there was nothing more specific than what the two answers below suggest. I see it mainly as a modern term and I would like it to use it the same way I would use "networking" in modern English, so I kind of prefer the tag. But the tag doesn't rule out older precedent by any means.
    – Joonas Ilmavirta ♦
    Commented Apr 22, 2017 at 4:59

2 Answers 2

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I'd say cōnectere is the verb you're looking for:

I.to tie, bind, fasten, or join together, to connect, entwine, link together (class.; most freq. in part. pass. and the trop. signif.); constr. with cum, inter se, the dat., or absol.

Additionally, to connect with is often a synonym for to network in English.

There's modern usage precedent, too. The Vocabula computatralia lists a network connection as a cōnexus ("a link between computer systems via net"), and since "networking" with someone is "adding them to your network," I see no better term than this.

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  • That's a good verb, thanks. I might want to use it in passive (co(n)necti) since I am being connected rather than connecting, but the choice between active and passive isn't as crucial as finding a good verb.
    – Joonas Ilmavirta ♦
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 1:23
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    I like conectere, too. For a more direct suggestion of a network, tela means anything woven, including a web — figuratively, too. I'd even consider something like telamovere!
    – Tom Cotton
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 16:58
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I think a great word for this is contexere, meaning to weave or connect intricately, like the action of braiding. It establishes a meaning that I think is closer to networking. I'd be fine with conectere, though.

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