Etymology and origin of the Latin word agonia
agonia1 sacrificial victim
- Confidence
- Uncertain
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 116–27 BC, Varro
- Ultimate origin
- Latin agō
From the same root · agonia1
Forms
agōnia f (genitive agōniae); first declension; also Agōnia n pl (genitive Agōniōrum)[1][2]
Etymology
The sacrificial victim is a word of the old Roman cult, of uncertain origin.[3][4] It is perhaps from Latin agō (“to drive, do”), through agōnium, as Köbler and Wiktionary hold;[4][5] the TLL connects the group with Agōnālia and perhaps with ⟨Agōnus⟩, the old name of the Quirinal hill.[3]
The epitome of Festus offers several explanations: the ancients called a victim by this name, the festival was named after a god who presided over things to be done, or after ⟨agōnēs⟩, an old word for hills, since the sacrifices were held on a hill.[6][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Its first author is Varro, who uses the neuter plural Agōnia as the name of the festival otherwise called the Agōnālia.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
Ovid uses the neuter plural for the victims themselves and also for the festival.[1][2] The epitome of Festus and the ancient glossaries keep the feminine singular in the sense “sacrificial victim”, and the glossaries distinguish hostia, the smaller victim, from victima, the larger.[1][7]
Timeline
- 116–27 BC – Varro uses it as the name of a festival.[2][4]
- 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses the plural of sacrificial victims.[1][4]
Meanings
Noun
agonia2 anguish
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- after 220 AD, Itala
- Borrowed from
- Ancient Greek ἀγωνία
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek ἀγών
From the same root · agonia2
Forms
agōnia f (genitive agōniae); first declension[2][9]
Etymology
The word for anguish is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀγωνία (agōnía, “struggle, contest; anguish”),[3][2][10] which comes from ἀγών (agṓn, “assembly, contest”).[11]
Earliest recorded meaning
It first appears in the Latin Bible, in the Gospel of Luke: et factus in agoniā prolixius ōrābat, “and being in anguish he prayed more earnestly”.[3][2][4]
Semantic evolution
The Latin version of Irenaeus also uses it for great distress,[3][2] and Commodian has a neuter plural agōnia for contests or arms.[3][2] Medieval writers used it for a contest or struggle, the spiritual fight of Christ's soldiers, martyrdom, and the death agony;[12][10] it also meant the agony of Christ's passion.[10]
English agony, from the late 14th century, came from it partly through Old French,[11] and Italian agonia is a borrowing.[2]
Timeline
- after 220 AD – The Itala uses it in the Gospel of Luke.[3][4]
- 390–406 AD – The Vulgate keeps it in the same verse.[3][4]
- late 14th century – English agony is formed from it.[11]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
- agōnium
- Agōnālia
- English agony
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f 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
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
Descendants
- English agony
Related etymologies
- calamus · also from Greek
- politia · also from Greek
- athleticus · also from Greek
- archetypum · also from Greek
- apathia · also from Greek
- amnestia · also from Greek
- academicus · also from Greek
- organicus · also from Greek
Cite this entry
“Agonia.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/agonia. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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