Etymologically
Log in

Portunus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word Portunus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods More words from the 1st century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin portus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin portus
Italian porto
Spanish puerto
French port
Latin Portūnus
From the same root
Latin angiportum ← portus
Latin importūnus ← portus
Latin opportūnus ← portus
Italian aeroporto ← porto
Spanish aportar ← puerto

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɔrˈtuː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [porˈtuː.nus][1]

Forms

Portūnus m sg (genitive Portūnī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin portus (“harbour”),[2][3][4] through an adjective *portūnus that also underlies opportūnus and importūnus.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's first author is Cicero, who names the god in On the Nature of the Gods (2.66);[2][5] Köbler gives Varro as the first source.[4]

Semantic evolution

Portunus was the Roman god who watched over harbours.[3][5] He was identified with the Greek sea god Palaemon.[5][6][7] His festival was the Portūnālia, his priest the flāmen Portūnālis, and his temple the Portūnium.[5][6][2] Lactantius still names him,[5][6] and Köbler records it as late as Gervase of Tilbury.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero names the god.[2][5][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil names him in the Aeneid (5.241).[5][6][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid mentions him in the Fasti.[5][6][4]
  • c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius names him.[5][6][4]
  • 1209–1214 – Gervase of Tilbury uses the name.[4]

Meanings

Proper noun

  1. Portunus, the Roman god of harbours, identified with Palaemon.[3][5][6]

Usage notes

Lewis and Short call the spelling Portumnus less correct.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
Cite this entry

“Portunus.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/Portunus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·