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aegroto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word aegroto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂eig-ro-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ae̯ˈɡroː.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eˈɡrɔː.to][1]

Forms

aegrōtō (present infinitive aegrōtāre, perfect active aegrōtāvī, supine aegrōtātum); first conjugation, no passive[1] An inscription at Pompeii spells it egr-.[2]

Etymology

It is a denominative verb from Latin aegrōtus (“sick”).[2][1][3] De Vaan calls the adjective an old formation, perhaps ⟨*aigroh₁-to-⟩ “with sickness”, from aeger (“sick”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *aigro- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eig-ro-.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[3] who has “be sick or be well, as you like”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to be ill, of people and animals, as in Cicero's graviter aegrotare “to be seriously ill”.[2][4] Lucilius uses it of the mind: a man sick in mind shows it in his body.[2] In Cicero it is also the unhealthy moral state of the mind, and Varro uses it of a faulty usage of words.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “grow sick, be sick”.[5] Its third person aegrotat “he is sick” is used in English universities for a certificate that a student is ill.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of being sick.[2][3][7]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of sickness of mind.[2][7]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of faulty usage.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of moral sickness.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be ill, be sick.[2][4][1]
  2. To be sick in mind; to be in an unhealthy moral state.[2][4]
  3. Of a usage, to be faulty.[2]

Word family

  • aegrōtātīcius
  • aegrōtātiō
  • coaegroto

References

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

“Aegroto.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/aegroto. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·