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accitus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word accitus

accitus1 imported

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
98–115 AD, Tacitus
Ultimate origin
Latin acciō
Etymology tree of accitus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin accio
Latin accitus

Forms

accītus (feminine accīta, neuter accītum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

The adjective “imported” is from Latin acciō (“to send for, summon”), its past participle used as an adjective.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective it is found in Tacitus, in the Annals and the Histories, meaning brought in from abroad, of foreign origin.[2][1][3]

Timeline

  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of what is brought in from abroad.[2][1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Brought in from abroad, imported, of foreign origin.[1][2]
  2. (participle) Summoned, sent for.[4][2]

accitus2 summons

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin acciō
Etymology tree of accitus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin accio
Latin accitus

Forms

accītus m (genitive accītūs); fourth declension[5]

Etymology

The noun “summons” is from Latin acciō (“to summon”) + -tus, a noun of action.[1][5] The verb acciō is formed from ad- and cieō (“to set in motion”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero's speeches against Verres, where the magistrates of Agyrium are called out accitu istius, at his summons.[4][6][3]

Semantic evolution

It occurs only in the ablative singular, accitu.[4] Sallust uses it in his Histories and Virgil in the Aeneid (accitu cari genitoris, “at the summons of his dear father”), and Tacitus has it too.[6][4][2] The grammarian Probus cites the form accitu.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses accitu, “at the summons”.[4][6][3]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it in his Histories.[6][3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the Aeneid.[4][6][3]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it in the Annals.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A summons, call, a summoning to a place (only in the ablative accitu).[1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Cite this entry

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

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