- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- Cicero
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (aequus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Pronunciation
Forms
aequāliter (comparative aequālius, superlative aequālissimē)[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin aequālis (“equal, even”) + -ter, an adverb; ⟨aequālis⟩ is from aequus (“even, level”).[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's earliest source is Cicero, who has frūmentum aequāliter distribūtum “corn distributed in equal shares”.[3][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[3]
Semantic evolution
It meant to an equal extent, on a basis of equality, equally, and alike, impartially, as in Cicero and Livy; and uniformly, evenly, regularly, as in Cicero, Vitruvius and Caesar; in Tacitus also steadily, consistently.[2]
British Medieval Latin used it for equally, evenly, as in Bede.[5]
Timeline
Meanings
Adverb
- To an equal extent, equally; alike, impartially.[2]
- Uniformly, evenly, regularly.[2]
- Steadily, consistently.[2]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry
“Aequaliter.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/aequaliter. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
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