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auctus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word auctus

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Latin augeo
Latin auctor
Latin auctus

auctus1 increased (adjective)

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂ewg-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈau̯k.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈau̯k.tus][1]

Forms

auctus (feminine aucta, neuter auctum, comparative auctior); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The adjective is the perfect participle of augeō “to increase”.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨augeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *augeje/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“to grow”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus' Captivi, aegritūdō auctior “greater grief”.[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Especially in the comparative, it meant increased in size, enlarged, large, as in Pliny; increased in power, wealth or importance, enriched, as in Livy's rēs Rōmāna auctior; of a quality, intensified, strong, as in Plautus; and fuller, more comprehensive, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses auctior.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of power.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Increased in size, enlarged.[2]
  2. Increased in power or wealth, enriched.[2]
  3. Intensified, strong.[2]
  4. Fuller, more comprehensive.[2]

auctus2 increase, growth (noun)

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂ewg-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈau̯k.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈau̯k.tus][1]

Forms

auctus m (genitive auctūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun is from Latin augeō (“to increase”) + -tus, a verbal noun of the fourth declension.[2][1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Lucretius, of growth.[5][2] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant increase of size, growth, as in Lucretius; the act of increasing, augmentation, as in Seneca's seed spreading in maximōs auctūs “to the greatest growth”; increase of fortune, prosperity; and physical bulk.[2][4] Lewis & Short note that it is especially frequent after the Augustan period and not in Cicero.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant growth, increase, abundance.[8]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An increase, augmentation; growth.[2]
  2. Increase of fortune, prosperity.[2]
  3. Physical bulk.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Auctus.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/auctus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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