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Cerealia

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word Cerealia

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin Cerēs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin Ceres
Latin Cerealis
English cereal
Latin Cerealia

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɛ.reˈaː.li.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [t͡ʃe.reˈaː.li.a][1]

Forms

Cereālia n pl (genitive Cereālium); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin Cereālis (“of Ceres”), its neuter plural used as a noun.[1][2][3] The adjective is formed from Cerēs, the goddess of corn.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero names the festival in letters to Atticus,[2][5][4] and Varro names it in his work on the Latin language.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It was the festival of Ceres in April, with games in the circus;[7][2][8] the sources differ on the day, which Lewis & Short give as 10 April, Georges as 12 or 13 April and Conte as 19 April.[2][8][6] Livy uses it in apposition, Ceriālia lūdī, “the games of Ceres”,[2][5][6] and Ovid writes of it in the Fasti.[2][3]

Pliny the Elder uses the neuter plural for cereals, grain crops.[8][6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero names the Cerealia in letters to Atticus.[2][5][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy speaks of the Ceriālia lūdī.[2][5][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid writes of the festival.[2][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for grain crops.[8][6][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The Cerealia, the festival of Ceres, held in April, with games in the circus.[7][2][8][5]
  2. Grain crops, cereals.[8][6]

Usage notes

The OLD heads it Ceriālia, the spelling with ⟨i⟩ that Lewis & Short also note for Cicero's letters;[7][2] Wiktionary treats Ceriālia as another spelling of Cereālia.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
Cite this entry

“Cerealia.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/Cerealia. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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