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Etymology and origin of the Latin word age

Confidence
Established
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂eǵ-)

Forms

age (also agedum; plural agite, agitedum)[1] Terence, Tibullus, Lucretius, Horace and Ovid use only age, and Catullus only agite.[1]

Etymology

It is the imperative singular of agō (“to drive, do”), used as an interjection.[2][1] De Vaan traces agō to Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o- (“to drive, lead”).[3] Lewis & Short compare the same use of Ancient Greek ἄγε (áge, “come!”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius has age, adstā, manē, audī, “come, stand by, wait, listen”, and Plautus age ī tū secundum, “come on, follow me”.[1]

Semantic evolution

Age is a call to action, “come!, come on!”, often strengthened with dum, iam, nunc, ergō, sīs and other particles (Terence: age, dā veniam fīliō, “come, forgive your son”, Virgil: ēia age).[1][2] The singular is also used with a plural verb (Plautus: age igitur, intrō abīte, “come on then, go inside”).[1] In speech it marks a transition, “well then, well now”, as in Lucretius' nunc age and often in Cicero (age porrō), and in questions and exclamations in Seneca and Valerius Maximus.[1][4][2] It also expresses agreement, “very well, all right” (Cicero: age, iam concēdō).[4][2]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius: age, adstā, manē, audī.[1][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: age ī tū secundum.[1][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius: nunc age.[1][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: age, iam concēdō.[4][5]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Come!, come on!, quick! (urging action).[1][2]
  2. Well then, well now (in transitions).[1][2][4]
  3. Very well, all right (agreeing).[4][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  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 c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Age.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/age. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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