Etymologically
Log in

absento

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word absento

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
354–430 AD, Augustine
Ultimate origin
Latin absēns
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sum
French soit
Italian essere
Latin absum
Latin absens
Latin absento
From the same root
Latin adsum ← sum
Latin desum ← sum
Latin ens ← sum
Latin forsit ← sum
Latin insum ← sum
Latin intersum ← sum
Latin possum ← sum
Latin prosum ← sum
Latin subsum ← sum
Latin supersum ← sum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [apˈsɛn.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [abˈsɛn.to][1]

Forms

absentō (present infinitive absentāre, perfect active absentāvī, supine absentātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin absēns (“absent”) + -ō, a verb made from the present participle of absum (“to be away”).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest citations come from De singularitate clericorum, a treatise it cites under Cyprian.[3] Among dated writers, Augustine uses it both transitively and reflexively: he writes that the Lord absentāvit sē corpore, withdrew himself in body, from the whole church.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a late word, with three uses.[3][2] Transitively it means to make absent, send away or remove: the Theodosian Code speaks of those whom infirmity estranges or a charge of desertion keeps away,[3][2] and some manuscripts of Claudian's poem on the rape of Proserpina have it where others read another verb.[2] Reflexively it means to absent oneself, and in the passive Prosper of Aquitaine says that the body is absent from a place while the soul is abroad in its affections.[3] Intransitively it means to be absent: Sidonius Apollinaris writes of absentāns Ulixēs, Ulysses being away.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it transitively and reflexively.[3][4]
  • c. 400 AD – Some manuscripts of Claudian have it in the sense “send away”.[2][4]
  • 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it of men kept away by a charge of desertion.[3][2][4]
  • 435/442 AD – Prosper of Aquitaine uses the passive of the body absent from a place.[3][4]
  • c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it intransitively, “to be absent”.[2][3][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Late Latin, transitive) To make absent, to send away, remove.[2][3][1]
  2. (Late Latin, reflexive) To absent oneself, withdraw.[3]
  3. (Late Latin, intransitive) To be absent, be away.[2][3][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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

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

Last edited on . ·