Etymologically
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agricola

Etymology and origin of the Latin word agricola

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (ager,colō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [aˈɡrɪ.kɔ.ɫa][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈɡriː.ko.la][1]

Forms

agricola m (genitive agricolae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from ager “field” and -cola (“dweller, tiller”), from colō “to till”.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus, whom he dates c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a farmer, cultivator, husbandman, in the widest sense, as Cicero's most diligent farmer, the king Deiotarus.[2][3][4] Poets applied it to the gods who protect farming, as in Tibullus.[2] Lucretius has the genitive plural agricolum.[2][3] As a cognomen it was borne by Gnaeus Julius Agricola, governor of Britain and Tacitus' father-in-law.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a farmer, husbandman, and in Medieval Latin a peasant, serf or free.[6][7] Italian agricolo and French agricole are borrowings.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses the genitive plural agricolum.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero calls Deiotarus a diligent farmer.[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A farmer, cultivator.[2]
  2. (poetic) A god of agriculture.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A peasant.[7]

Word family

  • agricolaris
  • agricolor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b 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

“Agricola.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/agricola. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·