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amitto

Etymology and origin of the Latin word amitto

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (mittō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [aːˈmɪt.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈmit.to][1]

Forms

āmittō (present infinitive āmittere, perfect active āmīsī, supine āmissum); third conjugation[1] Terence has āmīstī for āmīsistī, and Plautus āmīssis for āmīseris.[2]

Etymology

It is from ab- “away” and mittō “to send, let go”.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of sending someone away.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Plautus it meant to send away, to let go, release, to give up, to forgive a fault, to let slip, and to be parted from someone.[2] In Vitruvius it meant to let fall, in Terence to lose possessions, and in Cicero to lose troops in war, to lose a lawsuit, and to lose the use of something.[2] Döderlein explains that āmittere is to lose something so that it ceases to be ours, opposed to retinēre.[4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to send away, disperse, pardon.[5] It is behind the obsolete English amit “to lose”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of sending away and letting slip.[2][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of losing possessions.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of losing troops and lawsuits.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To send away; to let go, release.[2]
  2. To let fall.[2]
  3. To give up; to forgive.[2]
  4. To let slip, miss.[2]
  5. To lose; to forfeit.[2]
  6. To lose (a lawsuit, troops).[2]

Word family

  • amissibilis
  • āmissiō
  • amissus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Amitto.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/amitto. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·