100–1 BC

Spanish words from Latin words first recorded in the 1st century BC

59 Spanish words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 1st century BC, earliest Latin record first.

cagar
100 BC–80 BC

from Latin caco

It is inherited from Old Spanish cagar, inherited from Latin cacō (“to defecate”). Corominas calls the Latin verb an expressive formation, a word of children's speech, and compares caca. The same…
cuchillo
100 BC

from Latin cultellus

It is inherited from Latin cultellus (“small knife”), a diminutive of culter (“knife; ploughshare”), and its Old Spanish form was cuchiello. The same Latin word is Portuguese cutelo (older coitelo)…
pelo
100 BC–80 BC

from Latin pilus

It is inherited from Latin pilus (“a hair”). The same Latin word is Portuguese pelo, Catalan pèl, French poil, Italian pelo and Romanian păr. Meyer-Lübke takes the Portuguese word from Spanish…
alumbre
99 BC–1 BC

from Latin alumen

It is inherited from Latin alūminem (“alum”), the accusative of the Latin word. The same word is Italian allume, French alun, Catalan alum and the Portuguese pedra hume. Corominas takes the variants…
diciembre
99 BC–1 BC

from Latin December

It is inherited from Old Spanish deziembre or diziembre, inherited from Latin December (“December”). The Latin name meant “the tenth (month)”, because the Roman year originally began in March; it is…
marzo
99 BC–69 BC

from Latin Martius

It is inherited from Old Spanish março, inherited from Latin Mārtius (“(month) of Mars”), short for Mārtius mēnsis. The adjective comes from the name of the god Mārs with the suffix -ius, because…
oso
99 BC–74 BC

from Latin ursus

It is inherited from Old Spanish osso, inherited from Latin ursus (“bear”). Wiktionary sets up an intermediate Vulgar Latin form *ussus, with the Latin cluster /rs/ assimilated to /ss/; Corominas…
renovar
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin renovo

It is inherited from Latin renovō (“to restore, renew”). Corominas lists it among the popular derivatives of nuevo, not among the learned words of that family. This verb is formed from Latin re- +…
sacudir
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin succutio

It is inherited from Old Spanish sacudir, earlier sacodir, inherited from Latin succutiō (“to toss up from below, shake”). The Latin verb is formed sub- (“under”) + quatiō (“to shake”). The first…
terreno
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin terrenus

It is inherited from Latin terrēnus (“of earth, earthly”), the adjective of terra (“earth”); the noun continues its neuter used as a noun, terrēnum (“land, ground”). Berceo uses it with a variant…
castillo
90 BC–67 BC

from Latin castellum

It is inherited from Old Spanish castiello, inherited from Latin castellum (“fort, stronghold”). The Latin word is a diminutive of castrum (“fortified camp, fortification”). The same word is…
extraño
90 BC–80 BC

from Latin extraneus

It is inherited from Latin extrāneus (“external; not of the family; foreign”); Old Spanish estraño is its form in the Cantar de mio Cid. Corominas stresses that it is a popular, inherited word, so…
armadura
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin armatura

It is inherited from Old Spanish armadura, inherited from Latin armātūra (“armament, armour”). The /t/ of the Latin word, between vowels, was voiced to /d/. The Tentative Dictionary, DICCA-XV and…
besar
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin basio

It is inherited from Old Spanish besar, inherited from Latin bāsiāre (“to kiss”). The Latin verb is formed from bāsium (“kiss”), the source of beso. The same verb is Portuguese beijar, Catalan…
beso
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin basium

It is inherited from Old Spanish beso, inherited from Latin bāsium (“kiss”). Wiktionary gives *baisu as the intermediate form. Corominas calls it a word of familiar speech, and notes that it is…
bodega
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin apotheca

It is inherited from Old Spanish bodega, inherited from Latin apothēca (“storehouse, store-room”), which is from Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē, “depot, storehouse”), from ἀποτίθημι (apotíthēmi…
condado
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin comitatus

It is inherited from Latin comitātus (“retinue, escort”). Corominas and the Breve diccionario treat it as a derivative of conde. In Medieval Latin the noun came to mean the office of a count and the…
cuadro
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin quadrum

It is inherited from Latin quadrum (“a square”), a word of the same family as quattuor (“four”). The DLE and Moliner derive it instead from the adjective quadrus (“square”), whose neuter was used as…
joder
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin futuo

It is inherited from Old Spanish foder, inherited from Latin futuō (“to have sex with (a woman)”). Corominas notes that Spanish and Galician-Portuguese continue a base Vulgar Latin *futere, closer…
junto
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin iunctus

It is inherited from Latin iūnctus (“joined, united”), the past participle of iungō (“to yoke, join”). It was long used as the irregular past participle of juntar, which is formed from it. García de…
lograr
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin lucror

It is inherited from Old Spanish lograr, inherited from Latin lucror (“to make a profit, gain”). The Latin verb is formed from lucrum (“gain, profit”), which survives separately in logro. The…
mitad
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin medietas

It is inherited from Old Spanish meitad, inherited from Late Latin medietās (“middle; half”). Corominas explains the kept ⟨t⟩ as a semi-learned treatment, because the word was used so often in…
moneda
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin moneta

It is inherited from Old Spanish moneda, inherited from Latin monēta (“mint; coin, money”). The Latin noun was first a title of Juno, then the name of her temple, where the mint was set up, then the…
ordenar
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin ordino

It continues inherited from Latin ōrdinō (“to set in order, arrange”), a derivative of ōrdō (“row, rank, order”). Corominas calls it a semi-learned continuation of the Latin verb, like orden itself…
pagar
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin paco

It is inherited from Latin pācō (“to pacify, subdue”), a verb formed on pāx (“peace”). Old Spanish pagar already has this form in the Cantar de mio Cid. In classical Latin the verb meant only “to…
rato
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin raptus

It is probably inherited from Latin raptus (“a snatching, abduction”), through the senses “jerk, sudden pull” and, figuratively, “instant”. The etymology goes back to Covarrubias and was accepted by…
reconocer
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin recognosco

It is inherited from Latin recognōscō (“to recall; to examine, review”), in a Vulgar Latin form *reconōscō remade, like conocer from *conōscō, on the simple verb nōscō. Corominas and DICCA-XV treat…
reja
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin regula

1. The word for the ploughshare, first written relia, is inherited from Latin rēgula (“bar, rod; ruler”). In Latin the word meant any bar of metal or wood. The sense passed easily to the…
rosa
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin rosa

It is inherited from Old Spanish rosa, inherited from Latin rosa (“rose”). Corominas calls it semi-learned: the word was very popular, but its stressed /o/ did not become the diphthong /ue/, as it…
seguro
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin securus

It is inherited from Old Spanish seguro, inherited from Latin securus (“free from care; safe”). The Latin adjective is formed with the privative prefix sē- (“without”) and cura (“care, anxiety”), so…
señor
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin senior

It is inherited from Latin senior (“older”), the comparative of senex (“old”); the Old Spanish form was sennor. In the plural seniores named the most respected old men in the Late Empire, the…
sitio
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin situs

Its origin is uncertain: Corominas and Pascual consider it probably a semi-learned alteration, inherited from Latin situs (“position, site”), pointing to the late first records, the old variant sito…
tornar
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin torno

It is inherited from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”), a verb that also meant “to turn (an object) round”; the verb is common to all the Romance languages. The Latin verb is derived from tornus…
cielo
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin caelum

It is inherited from Latin caelum (“sky, heaven”). Old Spanish had the same form, cielo. The same word is Portuguese céu, Galician ceo, Asturian cielu, Catalan cel, Occitan cèl, French ciel, Italian…
copa
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin cuppa

It is inherited from Old Spanish copa, inherited from Late Latin cŭppa (“cup”). Classical Latin has only cūpa (“cask, tub”), sometimes spelt with ⟨pp⟩; the sense “cup” first appears in Latin…
lugar
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin localis

It is inherited from Late Latin locālis (“of a place, local”), a derivative of locus (“place”); the Old Spanish form was logar. Corominas explains the replacement: the descendant of the simple noun…
malo
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin malus

It is inherited from Old Spanish malo, inherited from Latin malus (“bad”). Corominas notes that the word has been in general use at every period and is shared by all the Romance languages except…
rana
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin rana

It is inherited from Latin rāna (“frog”). The same word is Portuguese rã, Galician ra, Asturian rana, Old French raine and Italian rana. Old Portuguese had raa and arraa. It was inherited by all the…
sello
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin sigillum

It is inherited from Old Spanish seello, inherited from Latin sigillum (“small figure; mark; seal”). The Latin noun is a diminutive of signum (“sign, mark”). Wiktionary reconstructs its earlier form…
seso
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin sensus

It is inherited from Latin sēnsus (“perception, sense, understanding”), the action noun of sentiō (“to feel, perceive”). Corominas notes that the Latin word survives as a popular word only in…
desdeñar
70 BC–19 BC

from Latin dedignor

It is inherited from Latin dēdignor (“to reject as unworthy, to scorn”). Wiktionary, the Italian DELI, the Catalan DCVB and Nascentes start instead from Vulgar Latin *disdignare, a reshaping with…
ligar
65 BC–54 BC

from Latin ligo

It is inherited from Latin ligāre (“to tie, bind”), in a semi-learned form that kept the Latin /i/. The popular outcome was Old Spanish legar, but the form with ⟨i⟩, shared with Portuguese ligar and…
mierda
65 BC–8 BC

from Latin merda

It is inherited from Old Spanish mierda, inherited from Latin merda (“dung, excrement”). Latin had a short vowel, ⟨ĕ⟩, and Spanish has the diphthong ⟨ie⟩ where the neighbouring languages keep ⟨e⟩…
sábado
65 BC–8 BC

from Latin sabbatum

It is inherited from Latin sabbatum (“the Sabbath”), from Ancient Greek σάββατον (sábbaton), from Biblical Hebrew שַׁבָּת (šabbāt, “the weekly day of rest”). The Latin word is found in Ovid, Horace…
cavar
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin cavo

It is inherited from Old Spanish cavar, inherited from Latin cavō (“to hollow out, dig”). The Latin verb is formed on cavus (“hollow”). The same Latin verb is Portuguese cavar, Galician cavar…
cresta
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin crista

It is inherited from Latin crista (“crest, comb of a cock”). Corominas finds no example before 1490, but holds that the word has existed since the beginnings of the language; the CDH has it from…
dejar
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin laxo

It is inherited from Old Spanish dexar, an alteration of the older lexar, which is inherited from Latin laxō (“to widen; to loosen, slacken”), a derivative of laxus (“loose, slack”). After Tailhan's…
salto
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin saltus

It is inherited from Latin saltus (“a jump, leap”), the action noun of saliō (“to jump”). The verb saltar continues the intensive saltō (“to dance; to hop”). DICCA-XV instead derives the noun from…
valle
58 BC–44 BC

from Latin vallis

It is inherited from Old Spanish valle, inherited from Latin vallis (“valley”). The shortened val appears beside it from the earliest charters. The same Latin word is Portuguese vale, Galician val…
pensar
44 BC–35 BC

from Latin penso

It is inherited from Old Spanish pensar, inherited from Latin pēnsō (“to weigh carefully; to consider”), the frequentative of pendō (“to weigh; to pay”). The Latin verb already had the figurative…
pesar
44 BC–35 BC

from Latin penso

It is inherited from Old Spanish pesar, inherited from Latin pēnsō (“to weigh”), the intensive of pendō (“to weigh; to hang”). The noun pesar “grief” is the infinitive used as a noun, already in the…
trecho
44 BC–35 BC

from Latin tractus

It is inherited from Latin tractus (“a drawing, dragging; a track; a stretch of space”). The Latin noun is formed from trahō (“to drag, draw”), the source of traer. García de Diego derives the word…
recoger
43 BC–18

from Latin recolligo

It is inherited from Latin recolligō (“to gather up again, collect”). The Latin verb is formed from re- (“again”) and colligō (“to gather together”), the source of coger, which in turn contains legō…
soldar
42 BC–19 BC

from Latin solido

It continues inherited from Old Spanish soldar, inherited from Latin solidō (“to make solid, consolidate”). In classical Latin the verb meant “to consolidate, harden”; the sense “to solder” is late…
bullir
30 BC–15 BC

from Latin bullio

It is inherited from Old Spanish bullir, inherited from Latin bulliō (“to bubble, boil”). The Latin verb is formed from bulla (“bubble”). Wiktionary calls the origin of the noun uncertain: perhaps…
demandar
27 BC–17

from Latin demando

It is inherited from Old Spanish demandar, inherited from Latin dēmandō (“to entrust, hand over”). The verb is formed from Latin dē- + mandō (“to entrust, commit”), and Wiktionary analyses the…
estrecho
16 BC–17

from Latin strictus

It is inherited from Latin strictus (“drawn tight, close”), through Old Spanish estrecho, properly the past participle of stringō (“to draw tight, bind”). Beside it Spanish took the learned doublet…
helar
4 BC–65

from Latin gelo

It is inherited from Latin gelō (“to freeze”). Old Spanish wrote it elar, as in Berceo, and yelar.^(DEMel|s.v. helar(se)) Covarrubias in 1611 still spelt it ⟨elar⟩, explaining it as almost ⟨ielar⟩…
llanto
4 BC–65

from Latin planctus

It is inherited from Latin planctus (“a striking; beating of the breast, lamentation”); the Old Spanish form was planto. The Latin noun is formed from plangō (“to strike; to beat one's breast…

All Spanish words inherited from Latin, by century →