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alga

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word alga

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
2nd century BC, Turpilius

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈaɫ.ɡa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈal.ɡa][1]

Forms

alga f (genitive algae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[2][3] De Vaan finds the usual connection with ulva (“sedge, water plant”) plausible, but thinks the variation between the two forms points to a loanword from a foreign language.[2] It is also compared with Germanic words for mould and rot, such as Norwegian words cited by Lidén.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler find it first in Turpilius, the comic poet of the 2nd century BC.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

It is seaweed, which Lewis & Short say was frequent in the poets, as Horace and Virgil.[6] Seaweed cast up on the shore stood for what is worthless or beyond counting: in Virgil, someone is more worthless than seaweed cast up on the shore.[5] Pliny the Elder mentions a kind used for dyeing red, and reports Nicander's claim that seaweed is an antidote to poison.[6][3] In poetry it can also be plants growing in fresh water, as in Statius.[5] Church Latin has “seaweed”.[7] English alga appears in the 1550s, as the singular of algae.[8]

Timeline

  • 2nd century BC – Turpilius, of seaweed.[5][2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, “more worthless than cast-up seaweed”.[5][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder, of a seaweed used as dye.[6][4]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius, of plants in fresh water.[5][4]
  • 1550s – English alga.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Seaweed.[5][6][1][7]
  2. Something worthless.[5][1]
  3. (poetic) Plants growing in fresh water, water plants.[5][1]

Word family

  • algēnsis
  • algōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Alga.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/alga. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·