Etymologically
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caupo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word caupo

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Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkau̯.poː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkaːu̯.po][1]

Forms

caupō m (genitive caupōnis, feminine caupōna); third declension[1] Also spelt cōpō, as in Cicero.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a borrowing from an unknown source, in view of Ancient Greek κάπηλος (kápēlos, “huckster, innkeeper”) probably from a Mediterranean language.[4][2] Wiktionary notes that the Greek word may be Pre-Greek and that the two were probably borrowed separately, and finds a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *kʷreyh₂- (“to buy”) far-fetched.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it.[4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a shopkeeper or huckster, and especially an innkeeper, as Cicero's innkeeper on the Via Latina.[2][6] The derivatives caupōna “inn” and caupōnārī “to traffic in” came from it.[4]

Early Germanic borrowings of it and of caupōnārī gave Old English cēap “trade, purchase”, the source of English cheap and chapman, and German kaufen “to buy”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[4][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses caupōnārī.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero mentions an innkeeper on the Via Latina.[6][5]
  • c. 1500 – English cheap is recorded as an adjective.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A shopkeeper, huckster, tradesman.[2][1]
  2. An innkeeper, tavern-keeper.[2][6]

Word family

  • caupōna
  • caupōnius
  • caupōnor
  • English cheap
  • English chapman

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Caupo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/caupo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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