Etymologically
Log in

accusator

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word accusator

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (causa)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin accuso
French accuser
Latin accusatio
Latin accusator

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ak.kuːˈsaː.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ak.kuˈs̬aː.tor][1]

Forms

accūsātor m (genitive accūsātōris, feminine accūsātrīx); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin accūsō (“to accuse”) + -tor, the agent noun.[2][1] accūsō is from ad (“to”) and causa (“cause, lawsuit”).[1] De Vaan finds the origin of causa uncertain: Walde and Hofmann connected it with cūdō (“to strike”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero.[4] The orator Mancinus says in L. Libōnem accūsātor veniō, “I come forward as prosecutor against Lucius Libo”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Accūsātor is the prosecutor in a public trial, the accuser;[2][5] L&S say it is used especially of charges against the state, while petītor is the plaintiff in a private suit.[2][5] The Rhetorica ad Herennium says that the accuser's task is to bring charges.[2] It is also a habitual or professional prosecutor (Cicero of a man who sought no office but was a fierce and troublesome accuser), and Wiktionary adds “informer”.[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “accuser”.[6] English accuser (mid-14th century) comes from it through French.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a professional prosecutor.[2][4]
  • mid-14th century – English accuser, through Anglo-French.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An accuser, prosecutor, plaintiff (in a public trial).[2][5][1][6]
  2. A professional prosecutor.[2]
  3. An informer.[1]

Word family

  • accūsātōrius
  • accūsātrīx

References

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

“Accusator.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/accusator. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·