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aliquanto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word aliquanto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus

Forms

aliquantō (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is the ablative of measure of aliquantus (“some amount of”), used as an adverb;[2][1] the adjective is formed from ali-, as in alius (“other”), and quantus (“how great”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL lists it in several plays of Plautus, as aliquantō facilius, “somewhat more easily”, in the Cistellaria.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is “by some amount, somewhat, considerably”, above all with comparatives and with words of difference, as Cicero's “you suggest something rather different from usual”.[2][3] With post and ante it is “some time after” and “some time before”, common in Cicero and Varro.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus with comparatives.[3][4]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a difference and with post and ante.[2][3][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Somewhat, to some extent; considerably (especially with comparatives).[2][1][3]
  2. aliquantō post, aliquantō ante: some time after, before.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Aliquanto.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/aliquanto. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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