Etymology and origin of the Latin word -cello
-cello1 raise oneself
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Inherited
- First attested
- 280/260–before 200 BC, Livius Andronicus (celsus)
- Inherited from
- Proto-Italic *kelne/o-
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *kel-n-H-
Forms
-cellō (present infinitive -cellere, perfect active (-celluī), supine -celsum); third conjugation; only in compounds[1]
Etymology
The verb meaning “to raise oneself” is inherited from Proto-Italic *kelne/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kel-n-H- (“to rise”), with the participle Proto-Italic *k(e)lto-.[1] De Vaan gives the PIE present after Schrijver, and the older stem Proto-Indo-European *kl-né-H- after the LIV.[1] Its cognates are Lithuanian kélti (“to lift”) (first person keliù) and kìlti (“to stand up”), and perhaps South Picene eśelsit (“they have erected”).[1]
Older handbooks assumed a root ending in a dental, Proto-Indo-European *keld-, because of ⟨-celsus⟩, but de Vaan notes that no other derivative of the root shows it, and that ⟨-ls-⟩ can have replaced ⟨*-lt-⟩ by analogy within Latin.[1] Schrijver reconstructs the root as Proto-Indo-European *klh₃- on the basis of Ancient Greek κολώνη (kolṓnē, “hill”) and κολωνός (kolōnós), but de Vaan objects that the suffix is productive in Greek.[1] The full grade of the root, frequent in Latin nasal presents, may come from the aorist.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
De Vaan finds the verb from Naevius onwards, but only in compounds; the earliest he lists is the participle celsus “high, tall” in Livius Andronicus.[1]
Semantic evolution
Plautus has praecellō “to be superior, surpass”, Cato excellō “to be higher, surpass” and its participle excelsus “high”, and Cicero antecellō “to surpass, excel”.[1] Some forms of the present follow the second conjugation: Plautus once has ⟨praecellet⟩, and Cicero and later writers ⟨excellet⟩ and ⟨excellent⟩.[1] Etymonline glosses the bound verb as “to rise high, tower” and traces English excel to the Latin compound.[2]
Timeline
- 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses the participle celsus.[1][3]
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses praecellō.[1][3]
- 234–149 BC – Cato uses excellō and excelsus.[1][3]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses antecellō.[1][3]
Meanings
Verb
Word family
-cello2 hit
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Inherited
- First attested
- c. 235–200 BC, Naevius (percellō)
- Inherited from
- Proto-Italic *kelne/o-
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *-kel-n-h₂-e/o-
Forms
-cellō (present infinitive -cellere, perfect active -culī, supine -culsum); third conjugation; only in compounds[1]
Etymology
The verb meaning “to hit” is inherited from Proto-Italic *kelne/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *-kel-n-h₂-e/o- (“to beat”).[1] Its cognates include Ancient Greek κλάω (kláō, “to break”) and ἀποκλάς (apoklás, “breaking”), Lithuanian kálti (“to beat”) (first person kalù), Latvian kal̃t (“to beat”) and perhaps kélmas (“tree trunk”).[1] De Vaan also lists Slavic verbs for killing and pricking, from a Balto-Slavic root for beating.[1]
After Schrijver, de Vaan rejects a reconstruction with a dental, which the cognates lack and the Latin verb does not need.[1] The perfect ⟨-culī⟩ may be the regular outcome of Proto-Indo-European *-ḱolh₂-, while ⟨-culsum⟩ replaced ⟨*-lt-⟩ with ⟨-ls-⟩ on the model of verbs such as fallō, which had a dental; the ⟨e⟩ of the present may come from the aorist.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
De Vaan finds it from Naevius onwards, only in compounds, the first being percellō “to strike down”.[1]
Semantic evolution
Plautus has prōcellō “to throw violently forward”, which de Vaan finds only in him, and procella “violent wind, storm”, which de Vaan takes as probably derived from that compound;[1] Lucretius has recellō “to swing back, recoil”.[1]
Timeline
- c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses percellō.[1][3]
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses prōcellō and procella.[1][3]
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses recellō.[1][3]
Meanings
Verb
Word family
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“-cello.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/-cello. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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