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centurio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word centurio

centurio1 divide into centuries

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*dḱm̥tóm)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɛnˈtʊ.ri.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [t͡ʃenˈtuː.ri.o][1]

Forms

centuriō (present infinitive centuriāre, perfect active centuriāvī, supine centuriātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

The verb is formed from centuria (“century, a body of a hundred”) with the verb ending ⟨-ō⟩.[2][3] centuria is from centum (“hundred”), perhaps on the model of decuria;[2] Wiktionary explains it as ⟨*centu-viria⟩, “a hundred men”.[1] centum continues Proto-Indo-European *dḱm̥tóm (“hundred”) directly.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus already uses it in jest of a slave's helpers: sī centuriātī bene sunt manipulārēs meī, “if my troops are well drawn up”.[3] The OLD's first citation is Cicero: cum hominēs in tribūnālī Aurēliō palam cōnscrībī centuriārīque vīdissem, “when I had seen men openly enrolled and formed into centuries at the Aurelian tribunal”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Centuriāre is “to form recruits into centuries”, of the infantry only (horsemen were decuriātī), as in Livy's equitēs decuriātī, centuriātī peditēs.[2][3] The land surveyors use it of dividing land into centuriae, squares of land.[2][3] Wiktionary notes the participle used of voting by centuries.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus jokes: sī centuriātī bene sunt manipulārēs meī, “if my troops are well drawn up”.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: cōnscrībī centuriārīque.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy: equitēs decuriātī, centuriātī peditēs.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To form into centuries, organize in companies (troops).[2][3][1]
  2. To divide (land) into centuriae.[2][3]
  3. centuriātus: having voted by centuries.[1]

Word family

  • centuriātiō
  • centuriātus

centurio2 centurion

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*dḱm̥tóm)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɛnˈtʊ.ri.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [t͡ʃenˈtuː.ri.o][1]

Forms

centuriō m (genitive centuriōnis); third declension[1] Inscriptions before Quintilian often write chenturio, with a wrong aspirate, and a by-form centuriōnus is found.[3]

Etymology

The noun is formed from centuria (“century, a body of a hundred”) with the suffix ⟨-ō⟩, ⟨-ōnis⟩ of agent nouns.[2][1] centuria is from centum (“hundred”), perhaps on the model of decuria;[2] Wiktionary explains it as ⟨*centu-viria⟩, “a hundred men”.[1] centum continues Proto-Indo-European *dḱm̥tóm (“hundred”) directly.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero.[5] It is the officer in command of a century of the legion.[2][1]

Semantic evolution

Centuriō is a centurion, the commander of a century, “captain”.[2][3][1] Church Latin glosses it “centurion”.[6] In Medieval Latin it is also the head of a hundred, like centēnārius, and an estate administrator.[7] English centurion (late 13th century) comes from its accusative centuriōnem.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[5]
  • late 13th century – Borrowed into English as centurion.[8]
  • Middle Ages – Used of an estate administrator.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A centurion, commander of a century.[2][3][1][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) The head of a hundred; an estate administrator.[7]

Word family

  • centuriōnātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Centurio.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/centurio. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·