Etymologically
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bonus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word bonus

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈbɔ.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈbɔː.nus][1]

Forms

bonus (feminine bona, neuter bonum, comparative melior, superlative optimus or optumus, adverb bene); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It comes from Old Latin duonus and earlier duenos, inherited from Proto-Italic *dweno- (“good”), whose further origin is uncertain.[2][1] De Vaan tentatively reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *duh₂-eno-;[2] other proposals include roots meaning “to do” or “to show favour”,[1][3] and the OLD compares Sanskrit दुवस् (dúvas-, “gift, honour”).[4] The change of /dw/ to /b/ is the same as in bellum from duellum.[1][5] The adverb bene and the adjective bellus “pretty”, originally a diminutive, belong to the same stem.[2]

Within Italic, compare Faliscan duenom (“good”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The archaic form duenos appears in the Duenos inscription,[2][6] which Köbler places between the 7th and the late 3rd century BC, and duonus occurs in the Carmen Saliare and in Livius Andronicus.[2][4] In Ennius it means good at something, as of a “good encourager”.[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective covered every kind of goodness: skill in a task, moral virtue (vir bonus), kindness, and the favour of gods.[4][5] In politics boni were the loyal or conservative citizens, and also men of wealth and standing.[4] It meant sound or reliable of troops and security, genuine of coins, and healthy of the body and mind, and bona aetas was the prime of life.[4] Many set phrases used it: bona fides “good faith”, bonae artes “liberal studies”, bono animo esse “to be of good cheer”.[4]

The neuter bonum meant a good thing and, in the plural, property.[4][7] In medieval Latin boni homines were people qualified to serve as witnesses or assessors in court.[7] English took bonus as a noun from Stock Exchange slang in 1773.[3]

Timeline

  • 7th–3rd century BC – The form duenos appears in the Duenos inscription.[2][6]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a good encourager.[4][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus contrasts good men and bad.[4][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses boni of the loyal citizens.[4][6]
  • Middle Ages – boni homines are qualified witnesses or assessors.[7]
  • 1773 – English borrows it as English bonus, an extra payment.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Good at something, competent, skilled.[4][5]
  2. Morally good, virtuous, vir bonus: a good man.[4][5]
  3. Kind, gracious; of gods, propitious.[4]
  4. Politically loyal, (plural as noun) the loyalists; men of standing.[4]
  5. Reliable, sound; of coins, genuine.[4]
  6. bona fides: good faith.[4]
  7. Good of its kind, suitable, effective; of weather, fine.[4]
  8. Healthy, strong, bona aetas: the prime of life.[4]
  9. Pleasant to the senses; pretty.[4]
  10. Favourable, lucky; of omens, auspicious.[4]
  11. (of arguments, advice) Sound, valid.[4]
  12. (of amounts) Considerable.[4]
  13. (Medieval Latin) boni homines: people qualified as witnesses or assessors.[7]

Noun

  1. A good or brave man, (plural) the loyal citizens, the upper classes.[4][1]

Word family

  • bellus
  • benignus
  • bonātus
  • bonitās
  • bonum
  • bonuscula
  • perbonus
  • bene
  • beō
  • English bonus
  • English bounty
  • English bonanza

Usage notes

The comparative melior and the superlative optimus come from other stems.[4][5] The opposite is malus.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn

Related etymologies

  • facio · also from Proto-Italic
  • fingo · also from Proto-Italic
  • corpus · also from Proto-Italic
  • gustus · also from Proto-Italic
  • rota · also from Proto-Italic
  • dormio · also from Proto-Italic
  • dico · also from Proto-Italic
  • decem · also from Proto-Italic
Cite this entry

“Bonus.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/bonus. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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