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Indicus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word Indicus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek ἰνδικός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek Ἰνδία

Forms

Indicus (feminine Indica, neuter Indicum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἰνδικός (indikós, “Indian”), from Ἰνδία (Indía, “India”).[3] Köbler refers it to the people's name Indī.[4] The English word Indic was taken from it or from the Greek adjective in 1877.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Terence's Eunuchus, of Indian elephants (elephantī Indicī).[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The OLD defines it as “of India” in a broad sense, or of its inhabitants.[1] It formed a number of set phrases: mare Indicum was the Indian Ocean, Indica gemma or Indicus lapillus a pearl, Indica pecus an elephant, Indicum cornū or Indicus dēns ivory, and Indicus color indigo.[1] The neuter used as a noun, Indicum, named the blue dye indigo itself in Pliny the Elder.[2] It remained in use in Ecclesiastical Latin.[6]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence speaks of Indian elephants.[2][4]
  • AD 43/44 – Pomponius Mela names the Indian Sea (mare Indicum).[1][4]
  • before AD 66 – Petronius uses it of pearls.[2][4]
  • AD 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder uses the neuter Indicum for indigo.[2][4]
  • AD 40–102/103 – Martial uses it of ivory and of elephants.[2][4]
  • 1877 – The English word Indic is formed from it or from the Greek.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of India or its inhabitants, Indian.[1][2][6]
  2. (in set phrases) mare Indicum, the Indian Ocean;[1] Indica gemma, a pearl;[1] Indicum cornū, ivory.[1]

Noun

  1. Indicum (neuter): indigo, a blue dye and pigment.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Indicus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/Indicus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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