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attraho

Etymology and origin of the Latin word attraho

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (trahō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈat.tra.(ɦ)oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈat.tra.o][1]

Forms

attrahō (present infinitive attrahere, perfect active attrāxī, supine attractum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ad- “towards” and trahō “to drag”.[2][1][3] It is also spelled ⟨adtrahō⟩, and the TLL says it is not found before Cicero.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of dragging and of compelling someone to come.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to draw with force, drag towards, as Lollius dragged before the court in Cicero, and in Seneca to drag into a book.[2][6] In Cicero it meant to compel to come, and in Seneca to bring on.[2] In Seneca it meant to draw by an invisible force, attract, as the sun draws part of the air, and Cicero and Pliny the Elder use it of the magnet drawing iron.[2][7] In Ovid it meant to bend a bow, in Catullus to draw up the feet, in Celsus to contract, and in Virgil to breathe in.[2] Lewis and Short call it rare but classical.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to draw to, draw in, drag, force, attract.[8] It survives in Italian attrarre and Spanish atraer, and English attract came in the early 15th century, “to draw to oneself”.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of dragging and of the magnet.[2][7][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of breathing in.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of attraction.[2][5]
  • early 15th century – English attract is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To drag towards; to drag in.[2]
  2. To compel to come; to bring on.[2]
  3. To attract.[2]
  4. To pull towards oneself; to bend (a bow); to contract.[2]
  5. To breathe in, inhale.[2]

Word family

  • attractiō
  • attractīvus
  • attractus
  • attractōrius

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 o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Attraho.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/attraho. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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