Italian words from Latin
1281 Italian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 20).
suo
It is inherited from Latin suus (“his, her, their own”). The word is panromance: French son and sien, Occitan so, Catalan son, Spanish su and suyo, Portuguese seu, Sardinian suu, Friulian so and…
suonare
It is inherited from Latin sonō (“to sound, resound; to cry, sing”), a verb formed from sonus (“sound”). The diphthong ⟨uo⟩ of the stressed forms (“suòno” “I play”) has spread to the unstressed…
suono
It is inherited from Latin sonus (“sound, noise; voice”), derived from sonō (“to sound, resound”). The same word is French son, Occitan so, Catalan so, Portuguese som and Old Spanish sueno (modern…
super
It is the prefix super- used as an independent word, “of the highest quality”. The prefix is from Latin super (“over, above”), and Devoto–Oli, Treccani and Wiktionary derive the word directly from…
superare
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin superō (“to be above; to overcome”), from superus (“upper, higher”), itself from super (“above”). Wiktionary allows it to be an Italian formation from…
superiore
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin superior (“higher”), the comparative of superus (“that is above, upper”), from super (“above”), with the comparative suffix -ior. Devoto describes…
supporre
It is borrowed from Latin suppōnere (“to put under; to substitute”), a compound of sub (“under”) and pōnō (“to put, place”). The infinitive was refashioned on the native porre, as Devoto notes…
tacere
It is inherited from Latin taceō (“to be silent”). The same word is French taire (Old French taisir), Occitan tazer, Romansh taschair, Friulian taze, Dalmatian takar and Romanian tăcea. Northern…
tagliare
It is inherited from Late Latin tāliō (“to cut, prune”), recorded from the 6th century in the writings of the Roman land surveyors, a verb formed from Latin tālia, a variant of tālea (“cutting, slip…
tale
It is inherited from Latin tālis (“of such a kind”), from the accusative “tālem”. The Latin word was in wide use, often paired with quālis (“of what kind”) and alliterating with tantus (“so great”)…
talento
1. The weight is a learned word, borrowed from Latin talentum (“a talent, a weight; a sum of money”), borrowed from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton). The Greek word meant “balance, the scale of a…
tanto
It is inherited from Latin tantus (“so great”), and as an adverb its neuter tantum (“so much; only”). The Latin adjective was in use at every period, with the original sense “so great”, in…
tardi
It is inherited from Latin tardē (“slowly; late”), the adverb of tardus (“slow”), originally an instrumental case form. Sabatini explains the final /i/ as the ending felt to be typical of adverbs…
tavola
It is inherited from Latin tabula (“board, plank”). Most of its other meanings, many of them already Latin, grew out of that basic sense. The same word is French table (the source of table), Occitan…
te
It is inherited from Latin tē (“you”), the accusative and ablative of Latin tū (“you”). It is panromance: French toi, Romansh tai, Occitan te, Catalan te, Sardinian te and Romanian tine continue it…
teatro
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin theātrum, which is from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “place for viewing”), from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to look at, be a spectator”), from θέα (théa…
tecnico
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin technicus (“master of an art”), from Ancient Greek τεχνικός (tekhnikós, “skilled, of an art”), derived from τέχνη (tékhnē, “art, craft”). Nocentini traces…
tedesco
It is borrowed from Medieval Latin theodiscus (“of the people, vernacular”), a Latin rendering of a Germanic adjective Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz derived from *þeudō (“people”), the word behind…
temere
It is inherited from Latin timēre (“to fear”). The same Latin verb is Occitan temer, Catalan tembre, Spanish temer, Portuguese temer, Sardinian timire and Romanian teme. The origin of the Latin verb…
tempo
It is inherited from Latin tempus (“time, period”), a neuter noun that was reinterpreted as masculine. The word is panromance: French temps, Occitan temps, Catalan temps, Spanish tiempo, Portuguese…
tenda
It is inherited from Late Latin tenda, recorded in the glosses and in Papias, from ⟨tenta (tēla)⟩ “stretched cloth”, the feminine past participle of Latin tendō (“to stretch”). Nocentini explains…
tenere
It is inherited from Latin teneō (“to hold; to keep; to possess”). The verb lives on in all Romance languages: French tenir, Occitan tenir, Catalan tenir, Spanish tener, Portuguese ter, Sardinian…
tentare
It is inherited from Latin temptō (“to touch, to feel; to test; to attack”), in its late and popular form without /p/. DELI, Sabatini–Coletti and GDLI explain that form by confusion with tentō (“to…
tentativo
It is borrowed from Late Latin tentātīvus (“trying, testing”), a learned word: the Latin adjective was used as a noun in Italian. GRADIT calls the source Medieval Latin, Sabatini–Coletti and the…
teoria
It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin theōria (“contemplation, speculation”), from Ancient Greek θεωρία (theōría), a word that meant both an embassy to a religious festival and, through the…
terapia
It is borrowed from New Latin therapīa, a learned word of medicine, from Ancient Greek θεραπεία (therapeía, “service; care, medical treatment”). The Greek noun belongs to θεραπεύω (therapeúō, “to…
termine
It is inherited from Latin termen (“boundary stone”), through a Vulgar Latin accusative *termĭnem that took the place of classical terminus (“boundary”). The same word is French terme, Occitan…
terra
It is inherited from Latin terra (“dry land, earth; country”). The word is panromance: French terre, Occitan terra, Catalan terra, Spanish tierra, Portuguese terra, Sardinian terra and Romanian…
terreno
1. The adjective is inherited from Latin terrēnus (“of earth, earthly, terrestrial”), a derivative of terra (“earth, land”). Nocentini notes that the Latin adjective is well represented in the…
terribile
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin terribilis (“frightening”), from terreō (“to frighten, terrify”) with the suffix -bilis. The Latin adjective is found from Ennius on. The same word is…
terzo
It is inherited from Latin tertius (“third”), the ordinal formed from trēs (“three”). The same word is French tiers, Occitan tertz, Catalan ters, Friulian terts and Romansh terz; Spanish tercio and…
tesoro
It is inherited from Latin thēsaurus (“treasure; storehouse”), borrowed from Ancient Greek θησαυρός (thēsaurós, “store, storehouse; treasure”). DEI calls it a semi-learned word. In it the Latin…
testa
It is inherited from Latin testa (“earthenware pot; tile; shell”), a word that in Late Latin came to mean the skull and then the head. In much of the Romance area the new word took the place of the…
tetta
It is inherited from Late Latin titta (“teat, nipple”), a word of children's speech of expressive origin. Similar words are found in very many languages: Ancient Greek τίτθη (títthē, “nurse”)…
tetto
It is inherited from Latin tēctum (“roof; house”), properly “something covered”, the past participle of tegō (“to cover”) used as a noun. The same word is French toit, Occitan tech, Spanish techo…
ti
The pronoun is inherited from Latin tibi (“to you”), the dative of Latin tū (“you”), according to DELI and Nocentini. In Tuscany the dative form took over the work of the accusative tē in unstressed…
tipo
It is borrowed from Latin typus (“figure, image; type”), borrowed from Ancient Greek τύπος (túpos, “blow; impression, mark”), from τύπτω (túptō, “to strike”). Wiktionary traces the verb to…
tirare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *tīrāre, a verb known only from the Romance languages, which have French tirer (12th century), Occitan tirar, Catalan tirar, Spanish tirar, Portuguese tirar and…
titolo
It is borrowed from Latin titulus (“placard, inscription; title”), a learned word, though DELI notes popular reflexes and place names in Italy. The Latin word first named the placard carried on a…
tizio
It is borrowed from Latin Titius, the name of a Roman gens, formed from the first name Titus. The Italian jurist Irnerius used the name in made-up legal examples, together with Caius and Sempronius…
toccare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *toccāre (“to knock, to tap lightly with the hand”), formed on the imitative sound sequence ⟨tocc-⟩, the knock of a blow. DELI calls this, first proposed by…
togliere
It is inherited from Latin tollō (“to lift, raise; to take away, remove”). DELI points out that the regular outcome was Old Italian torre, from a form with ⟨-lr-⟩ assimilated, and DEI explains the…
tomba
It is inherited from Late Latin tumba, a late word (4th century, Prudentius) that Christian writers took from Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”). The Greek word is old, used since Homer…
tornare
It is inherited from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”). The Latin noun was borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “compass; lathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-…
torta
It is inherited from Late Latin tōrta (“round flat loaf”), the word the Vulgate (before 420) uses to translate Ancient Greek ἄρτος (ártos, “bread”), in the sense of a flat round loaf, which the…
totale
It is borrowed from Late Latin tōtālis (“entire, total”), a learned word, formed from tōtus (“whole, all”). DELI thinks it probably came in through French total, recorded as an adjective from 1370…
tra
It is inherited from Latin intrā (“within, inside”), with the loss of the first syllable; Wiktionary adds the influence of inter (“between”). The southern dialects keep the fuller form, as Sicilian…
tradire
It is borrowed from Latin trādere (“to hand over, deliver”), moved into the conjugation in ⟨-ire⟩, as in other Romance languages. Nocentini counts it as a borrowing from Latin, Prati says it came in…
traditore
It is inherited from Latin trāditor (“one who hands over”), formed from trādō (“to hand over”) with the agent suffix -tor, and it followed the meaning of tradire. The sense “betrayer” spread in the…
tradurre
It is borrowed from Latin trādūcere (“to lead across, transfer”), a learned word adapted to the pattern of condurre. The Latin verb is trāns- (“across”) with dūcō (“to lead”), which goes back to…
traduzione
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin trāductiō (“transfer”), from trādūcō (“to lead across, to transfer”). The Latin verb is dūcō (“to lead”) with the prefix trāns (“across”). The sense…
tranquillo
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin tranquillus (“calm, still”), an adjective used by Latin writers from Plautus on, above all of the sea. The same Latin adjective gave French tranquille (14th…
trascinare
It continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *traxīnāre, formed from trāxī, the perfect of Latin trahō (“to pull, drag”). Others start from a Vulgar Latin *tragīnāre, from a form *tragere parallel to…
trasferire
It is borrowed from Latin trānsferō (“to carry across, transfer”), a learned borrowing moved into the verbs in “-ire”. The Latin verb is a compound of trāns- (“across, beyond”) and ferō (“to…
trasformare
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin trānsfōrmō (“to change in shape”), from fōrma (“form, shape”) with the prefix trāns- (“across, beyond”), which expresses the change. Nocentini analyses it…
tratta
It is the feminine past participle of trarre (“to draw, pull”) (tratto), used as a noun. The verb continues inherited from Latin trahō (“to draw, drag”), a verb of obscure origin without sure…
trattare
It is inherited from Latin tractāre (“to drag; to handle; to manage; to discuss”), the frequentative or intensive of trahō (“to drag, pull”), formed on its past participle tractus. Many Italian…
trattato
It is borrowed from Latin tractatus (“handling; treatment; discussion”), a learned word. The Latin noun is an action noun in -tus from tractō (“to handle, treat”), the same verb that gave trattare…
tratto
It continues inherited from Latin tractus (“a pulling; a stretch, extent; a course”), an action noun from trahō (“to pull, drag”). The same Latin word gave French trait, Occitan trach and Spanish…
tre
It is inherited from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. The numeral is pan-Romance: French trois, Occitan tres, Catalan tres, Spanish tres, Portuguese três…