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absolvo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word absolvo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (solvō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin luo
Latin eluo
Latin solvo
English solve
French sol
Latin exsolvo
Latin absolvo
Latin insolubilis
English insoluble
Latin dissolvo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [apˈsɔɫ.woː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [abˈsɔl.vo][1]

Forms

absolvō (present infinitive absolvere, perfect active absolvī, supine absolūtum); third conjugation[1] It is also spelled apsolvō.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ab- (“from, away”) + solvō (“to loosen, release”), “to loosen from”.[2][1][3][4] De Vaan explains solvō as a compound of ⟨*se-⟩ “away” and luō (“to loosen”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[5] who uses it of paying people off: dūcuntur, datur aes; iam absolūtōs cēnseās, “they are taken off, the money is paid; you'd think them settled with”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Absolvō is to free from bonds, release (Tacitus), and above all, in law, to find not guilty, acquit (Cicero: an innocent man, if accused, can be acquitted).[2][3] It is also to clear of a charge, to free from an obligation, and to settle one's account with someone, pay off (Plautus).[2] With verbō or paucīs it is to say in a word, sum up (Plautus: ūnō verbō absolvam, lēnōst, “to put it in one word, he's a pimp”), and it is to finish or complete a task (Varro: arātiōnēs absolvī, “I have finished the ploughing”).[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “absolve, pardon, release, forgive”.[6] English absolve (early 15th century) comes from it, Old French assoldre is its inherited form.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: iam absolūtōs cēnseās.[2][5][7]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro: arātiōnēs absolvī.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of acquitting the innocent.[2][7]
  • early 15th century – English absolve.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To set free, release, untie.[2][3][1][6]
  2. (law) To acquit, find not guilty.[2][3][1]
  3. To clear of a charge, justify; to free from an obligation.[2]
  4. To pay off, settle with.[2][1]
  5. To sum up, say briefly.[2]
  6. To finish, complete.[2][1]
  7. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To absolve, forgive.[6]

Word family

  • absolūtē
  • absolūtiō
  • absolūtōrius
  • absolūtus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Absolvo.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/absolvo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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