Etymologically
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caelebs

Etymology and origin of the Latin word caelebs

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkae̯.ɫɛps][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈt͡ʃɛː.lebs][1]

Forms

caelebs (genitive caelibis); third-declension one-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.[1][2] It has been reconstructed as *kaiwelo-libʰ- “living alone”, comparing Sanskrit केवल (kévala, “alone, one's own”), but de Vaan notes that the root and formation are unclear.[3][4] De Vaan also mentions a link with Old Church Slavonic цѣлъ (cělъ, “whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂i-lo- (“whole”).[3] The Appendix Probi corrects the misspelling celeps.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[3][6] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant unmarried, nearly always of men, whether bachelors or widowers, and the censors were to forbid men to remain single.[4][7] Of trees it meant not supporting vines, as Horace's “bachelor plane tree”.[4] Horace also says nothing is better than the single life.[7]

Medieval writers used it of celibate men and women and of the celibate way of life.[8] Its derivative caelibātus gave English celibate in the 1610s and English celibacy in the 1660s.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero's laws order the censors to forbid men to stay single.[7][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace speaks of the bachelor plane tree.[4][6]
  • 1610s – English celibate is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Unmarried, single (of men).[4]
  2. (of trees) Not supporting vines.[4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Celibate.[8]

Word family

  • caelibāris
  • caelibātus
  • English celibate
  • English celibacy

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d 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 d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Appendix Probi, a late antique list of correct and censured Latin word forms ("calida non calda"); ed. H. Keil, Grammatici Latini IV, Leipzig 1864, 197–199.
  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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Caelebs.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/caelebs. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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