Etymologically
Log in

clandestinus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word clandestinus

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɫan.dɛsˈtiː.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [klan.desˈtiː.nus][1]

Forms

clandestīnus (feminine clandestīna, neuter clandestīnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from clam “secretly”: de Vaan takes it to presuppose an earlier adverb *clam-de, like quande, to which the suffix -stīnus was added, as in intestīnus.[2][1][3] The TLL considers the formation unclear, and the grammarian Velius Longus explains the n as standing for the m of clam.[4] Georges and Lewis and Short proposed other analyses.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from the Twelve Tables,[7] and it is found in Plautus, who speaks of a secret marriage.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It meant done or arranged in secret, as of a secret suspicion or marriage in Plautus, hidden processes of nature in Lucretius, and secret meetings with the enemy in Cicero.[6][8] Caesar uses it of secret messages and embassies, Livy of secret pacts, and Tacitus of secret gatherings.[6] It also meant acting in secret, as of an enemy moving unseen within the walls.[9]

An adverb clandestino occurs in Lucilius and Plautus.[6] English borrowed it as English clandestine in the 1560s.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Köbler dates it from the Twelve Tables.[7]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a secret marriage.[6][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of hidden motions of matter.[6][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero condemns secret meetings with the enemy.[6][7]
  • 1560s – English borrows it as English clandestine.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Secret, hidden, clandestine.[9][6]
  2. Acting in secret.[9]
  • clam
  • English clandestine

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Clandestinus.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/clandestinus. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .