Etymologically
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alluo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word alluo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (lavō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈal.lu.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈal.lu.o][1]

Forms

alluō (present infinitive alluere, perfect active alluī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1] It is also spelled adluō.[2]

Etymology

It is from ad- and ⟨-luō⟩, the combining form of lavō “to wash”.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of waters washing a shore.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant of rivers and the sea to flow past, wash, lap, as in Cicero, and of water to touch or wet something.[2] Lewis & Short suggest it was perhaps not used before the Augustan period.[4] In Ulpian it meant to deposit by sedimentation.[2]

Medieval Latin alluvium, from its adjective alluvius “washed against”, gave English alluvium in the 1660s.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[2][3]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of deposits.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To flow past, wash, lap.[2]
  2. To deposit (by sediment).[2]

Word family

  • alluuies
  • alluviō
  • alluvius

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Alluo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/alluo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·