Etymology and origin of the Latin word -atus
-atus1 office, rank
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin -tus#3
Forms
-ātus m (genitive -ātūs); fourth declension[1]
Etymology
The suffix for offices is by rebracketing from Latin -tus3 (“suffix of action nouns”), taken from nouns of first-conjugation verbs such as mercātus, from mercor, in which the /ā/ really belongs to the verb stem.[2] Weiss agrees that such words were formed at first from verbs in /-āre/, so that iūdicātus is “judging” from iūdicō, before the verb step could be left out and iūdex was felt as the base.[3] The ultimate source is Proto-Italic *-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *-tus.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Plautus, of about 250–184 BC,[4] has senātus, which the OLD analyses as senex with this suffix.[1] Cato, of 234–149 BC,[4] has magistrātus (“magistracy”),[3] and cōnsulātus (“consulship”) appears in the Elogia.[3]
Semantic evolution
Once it could be added directly to a noun, it served widely to denote an office, a function or the group holding it: cōnsulātus, prīncipātus, tribūnātus, pontificātus.[1][3][2] It is the source of English -ate in nouns such as senate.[5]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses senātus.[1][4]
- 234–149 BC – Cato has magistrātus.[3][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero has prīncipātus, pontificātus, tribūnātus and iūdicātus.[3][4]
Meanings
Suffix
- Forms nouns from nouns or adjectives denoting a rank or office, or the group holding it: cōnsulātus, senātus, magistrātus.[1][2]
Word family
-atus2 having, wearing
- Confidence
- Disputed
- Formation
- Inherited
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC Plautus
- Inherited from
- Proto-Italic *-ātos
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Italic *-ātos
Forms
-ātus (feminine -āta, neuter -ātum); first/second-declension suffix[2]
Etymology
The suffix for adjectives of possession is, according to Wiktionary, inherited from Proto-Italic *-ātos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos, a “pseudo-participle” possibly related to -tus, though similar formations elsewhere in Indo-European show it was already distinct.[2] It is cognate with Proto-Slavic *-atъ and Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz, the source of English -ed in the sense “having”.[2] The OLD instead takes it as modelled on perfect participles such as armātus.[1] Weiss treats it as a denominative use of the suffix /*-to-/, pointing out that no verb ever existed behind barbātus.[3] Sihler says of the regular first-conjugation participle in -ātus that its earlier history is not known in detail.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
Plautus, of about 250–184 BC,[4] already has barbātus (“bearded”), animātus (“spirited”) and hastātus (“spearman”).[3] Weiss classes them as possessive words made from nouns.[3]
Semantic evolution
The core sense is possession of a thing or a feature.[2] With nouns for clothing or equipment it means “wearing” or “armed with”, as in brācātus “wearing breeches” and clipeātus “armed with a clipeus”.[1][2] It also makes adjectives from other adjectives, especially colour names, meaning dressed in that colour, and adjectives of likeness.[2] The OLD notes that it is apparently also made from adjectives, as in crēbrātus.[1] Etymonline traces English -ate in adjectives to Latin past participles of this shape.[5]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses barbātus, animātus and hastātus.[3][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero has brācātus “wearing breeches”.[1][4]
Meanings
Suffix
- Forms adjectives from nouns meaning having or wearing the thing: brācātus, clipeātus, barbātus.[1][2]
- From other adjectives, especially colour names, “wearing clothes of that colour”.[2]
- From nouns, indicating a resemblance.[2]
Word family
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Weiss, Michael (2020), Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd ed., Ann Arbor: Beech Stave
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
Borrowed into
- English -ate
Descendants
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“-atus.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/-atus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.
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