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circumfluo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word circumfluo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Varro
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*bʰlewH-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fluo
Latin circumfluo
Latin confluo
Latin defluo
Latin diffluo
Latin effluo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɪrˈkũː.fɫu.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [t͡ʃirˈkum.flu.o][1]

Forms

circumfluō (present infinitive circumfluere, perfect active circumflūxī, supine circumflūxum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + fluō (“to flow”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨fluō⟩ to Proto-Italic *flow-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- (“to flow”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the OLD's earliest citations are Varro, of crowding round, and Cicero.[2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC and Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to flow round, as of rivers in Ovid; to crowd round, as in Varro; of a vessel or its contents, to overflow, as in Pliny, of what spills over filled cups; and with an ablative, to be surrounded or abundantly supplied with something, as in Cicero, of men abounding in resources or glory.[2][5][6] It survives in Italian circonfluire and Portuguese circunfluir.[1]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of crowding.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of abundance.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of flowing round.[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To flow round.[2]
  2. To crowd round.[2]
  3. (of a vessel) To overflow.[2]
  4. (with ablative) To be surrounded or abundantly supplied with, abound in.[2]

Word family

  • circumfluus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Circumfluo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/circumfluo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·