200–101 BC

Spanish words from Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century BC

48 Spanish words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 2nd century BC, earliest Latin record first.

amenaza
200 BC

from Latin minacia

It continues inherited from Vulgar Latin minācia (“threat”); the oldest Spanish form is menaza. The initial ⟨a-⟩ comes from the verb amenazar, helped by a misdivision of ⟨la menaza⟩, ⟨una menaza⟩…
auto
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin actus

1. The word for a deed or a judicial decree is inherited from Old Spanish auto, inherited from Latin āctus (“a doing; an act”). It came into Spanish by a semi-learned route, and the DCECH calls it…
col
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin caulis

It is inherited from Latin caulis (“stalk, stem; cabbage”). The Latin word was masculine; it became feminine in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan and in some Sardinian dialects, a gender already…
grueso
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin grossus

It is inherited from Latin grossus (“thick, bulky”), through Old Spanish gruesso. The DLE calls the Latin word Late Latin; it is recorded from the 1st century. The DHLF and Bénaben describe it as an…
hoz
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin falx

1. The word for the sickle is inherited from Old Spanish foz, inherited from Latin falx (“sickle, scythe, pruning hook”). The Academy's dictionary of 1726–1739 notes the old form, and Cabrera traced…
milagro
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin miraculum

It is inherited from Old Spanish miraglo, inherited from Latin mīrāculum (“wonder, marvel”), a semi-learned word. The regular Spanish outcome of the Latin cluster /kl/ is a jota, as in ojo from…
peligroso
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin periculosus

It continues inherited from Old Spanish perigloso, inherited from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous”), a semi-learned word like peligro. Corominas lists it among the derivatives of that noun, and…
pulpa
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin pulpa

It is inherited from Latin pulpa (“flesh; pulp of fruit”), a semi-learned word. The other Romance languages changed the short Latin /u/ to /o/, as in Portuguese polpa, Galician polpa, Catalan polpa…
ramo
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin ramus

It continues inherited from Latin rāmus (“branch, bough”). The same Latin word is Portuguese ramo, Galician ramo, Catalan ram, Occitan ram, Old French raim, Italian ramo and Romanian ram. Beside it…
serpiente
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin serpens

It is inherited from Old Spanish serpiente, inherited from Latin serpēns (“snake, serpent”). Corominas thinks it was rather a semi-learned word than a fully popular one, since it was always a…
sospechar
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin suspecto

It is inherited from Latin suspectō (“to look up at; to mistrust”), a verb of imperial Latin; classical Latin said suspicor. The Latin verb is the frequentative of suspiciō (“to look up at”), formed…
verdad
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin veritas

It is inherited from Latin vēritās (“truth, reality”), which Wiktionary and Gómez de Silva derive from the accusative form. The first record is in the Cantar de mio Cid, and vertat is an archaic…
agalla
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin galla

1. The word for the oak gall is inherited from Old Spanish agalla, inherited from Latin galla (“gall-nut, oak apple”). Its first form was galla, which became the present form when part of the…
braga
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin braca

It continues inherited from Latin brāca (“breeches”), which was used mostly in the plural brācae. Latin had it from Gaulish: Bénaben and the DHLF note that the Romans, who wore loose, unstitched…
cima
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin cyma

It is inherited from Latin cȳma (“young sprout of the cabbage and other plants”). The Latin word is from Ancient Greek κῦμα (kûma, “swelling; wave; young shoot”), whose first sense was “swelling”…
cometer
180 BC–130 BC

from Latin committo

It is inherited from Old Spanish cometer, inherited from Latin committere (“to bring together; to entrust; to set fighting, begin a fight”). That verb is formed from Latin con- + mittō (“to send…
olor
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin olor

It is inherited from Old Spanish olor, inherited from Vulgar Latin olor (“smell”), an altered form of classical Latin odor (“smell, odour”) made under the influence of the verb oleō (“to smell”)…
calle
170 BC–90 BC

from Latin callis

It is inherited from Old Spanish calle (also cal), inherited from Latin callis (“footpath, especially a cattle track”). The sense “street” had already appeared in Latin by the 7th century, in…
atender
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin attendo

It is inherited from Latin attendō (“to stretch towards; to pay attention”), which Corominas explains as stretching the ear towards something and so making the mind attentive. Old Spanish atender is…
casa
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin casa

It is inherited from Latin casa (“hut, cottage”), and Old Spanish casa has the same form. In Vulgar Latin it replaced domus (“house”) as the word for a dwelling; Isidore of Seville still defined it…
costumbre
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin consuetudo

It is inherited from Old Spanish costumne, inherited from Latin cōnsuētūdō (“custom, habit”), from its accusative. The DLE starts from Vulgar Latin *cosuetumen, a form standing for the classical…
firmar
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin firmo

It continues inherited from Latin firmō (“to make firm, strengthen, confirm”), a derivative of firmus (“firm, stable”). Corominas lists it among the derivatives of firme and explains why its ⟨f-⟩…
prestar
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin praesto

It is inherited from Old Spanish prestar, inherited from Latin praestō (“to stand out; to vouch for; to provide”). The Latin verb is formed from prae- (“before”) and sto (“to stand”). Corominas…
punto
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin punctum

It is inherited from Old Spanish punto, inherited from Latin pūnctum (“a prick, a puncture; a point”). The Latin noun is the neuter of pūnctus, past participle of pungō (“to prick, pierce”), so that…
puño
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin pugnus

It is inherited from Latin pugnus (“fist”). Old Spanish wrote it punno, with ⟨nn⟩ for the palatal nasal /ɲ/ that Latin /ɡn/ became. The DCECH notes that it has been in general use at every period…
sobrino
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin sobrinus

It is inherited from Old Spanish sobrino, inherited from Latin sobrīnus (“second cousin”). In Latin the word named the son of a first cousin and more distant cousins, while “first cousin” was…
domingo
160 BC–120 BC

from Latin dominicus

It is inherited from Old Spanish domingo, inherited from Late Latin dominicus (“of the Lord”), short for diēs Dominicus (“the Lord's day, Sunday”). Corominas calls it a semi-learned descendant of…
candela
146 BC

from Latin candela

It is inherited from Latin candēla (“candle”), and has kept the Latin form unchanged since the earliest Old Spanish texts. The same Latin word is Portuguese candeia, Galician candea, Catalan…
freno
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin frenum

It is inherited from Latin frēnum (“bridle, bit”). It is frequent in charters of the earliest period and in texts of every date. The same Latin word is Portuguese freio, earlier Old…
torre
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin turris

It is inherited from Old Spanish torre, inherited from Latin turris (“tower”). The word is used in every period and is common to all the western Romance languages: Portuguese torre, Galician torre…
bobo
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin balbus

It is inherited from Latin balbus (“stammering”). Wiktionary adds that sound symbolism influenced the form. The REW lists the Spanish word under the Latin adjective but allows that it may come from…
carta
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin charta

It continues inherited from Latin charta (“paper”), which is from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “papyrus leaf, roll”). Latin made the Greek masculine noun feminine. Beekes leaves the Greek word…
corto
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin curtus

It is inherited from Latin curtus (“truncated, cut short; incomplete”); Old Spanish corto is first recorded in 1054. The same word is Portuguese curto, Galician curto, Asturian curtiu, Aragonese…
decir
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin dico

It is inherited from Old Spanish dezir, inherited from Latin dīcere (“to say”). Only Castilian and some Galician dialects moved the verb into the conjugation in ⟨-ir⟩: Portuguese dizer and Asturian…
escuela
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin schola

It is inherited from Latin schola (“lesson; school”); the Old Spanish form was already escuela. The Latin word is from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “leisure, free time”), later “study” and “school”…
lardo
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin lardum

It is inherited from Latin lārdum (“bacon fat, lard”), the contracted form of lāridum. Corominas notes that the word survives in all the Romance languages and is more popular in Catalan and…
carro
120 BC–67 BC

from Latin carrus

It is inherited from Latin carrus (“a Gallic wagon”), and Old Spanish already had the same form carro. The same Latin word is Portuguese carro, Galician carro, Asturian carru, Catalan carro, Occitan…
esposo
119 BC–79 BC

from Latin sponsus

It is inherited from Latin spōnsus (“betrothed; bridegroom”), the past participle of spondeō (“to promise solemnly”); the feminine esposa is sponsa. Lanchetas compares espeso, from expensum, for the…
conejo
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin cuniculus

It is inherited from Old Spanish conejo, inherited from Latin cuniculus (“rabbit; burrow, underground passage”). Martial's verse shows a long vowel in the second syllable of the Latin word, and the…
costado
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin costatus

It is inherited from Latin costātus (“having ribs”), used as a noun in the neuter, *costātum. The Latin adjective is formed on costa (“rib; side”). The same word is French côté, Catalan costat…
estambre
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin stamen

It continues inherited from Latin stāmen (“warp of a loom; thread”). Wiktionary starts it from the oblique stem, Vulgar Latin *stāminem. The Latin word was neuter; Spanish has wavered between…
florecer
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin floresco

It is inherited from Old Spanish florescer, inherited from Latin flōrēscō (“to begin to flower”). The Latin verb is formed flōreō (“to bloom”) + the inchoative suffix -scō, and the simple verb is…
hallar
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin afflo

It is inherited from Old Spanish fallar, inherited from Latin afflō (“to blow or breathe upon”). That verb is formed from Latin ad- + flō (“to blow”). De Vaan reconstructs a root Proto-Indo-European…
lechuga
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin lactuca

It is inherited from Old Spanish lechuga, inherited from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”). Corominas notes that the Latin word survives in all the Romance languages except Rhaeto-Romance. The same word is…
legumbre
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin legumen

It is inherited from Latin legūmen (“pulse, leguminous plant”), continued through its oblique stem. Wiktionary and Gómez de Silva start from an accusative *legūmine(m), formed by analogy, since the…
novedad
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin novitas

It is inherited from Latin novitās (“newness, novelty”), continuing its accusative form. DICCA-XV calls it a borrowing from Latin. Corominas dates it to 1444, but DEMel has the Old Spanish form…
prisión
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin prehensio

It is inherited from Old Spanish presón, inherited from Latin prehensio (“a seizing, arrest”). Corominas and the Breve diccionario call it a semi-learned word, Wiktionary a semi-learned borrowing…
rubio
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin rubeus

It is inherited from Latin rubeus (“reddish, red”), which the Old Spanish texts mostly spell ruvio. The Latin adjective (also robeus) is formed from rubeō (“to be red”). The same root gives ruber…

All Spanish words inherited from Latin, by century →