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claudus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word claudus

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Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkɫau̯.dʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈklaːu̯.dus][1]

Forms

claudus (feminine clauda, neuter claudum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2][3] Many have connected clāvis “bar” and clāva “club”, as “one who goes with a stick” or “one who is hampered”, from *klāw-idos, but de Vaan notes that an adjective in /-idus/ would make the lame man stick-like rather than one who walks with a stick.[2] Wiktionary compares Russian колдыка (koldyka, “lame person”) and Ancient Greek κολοβός (kolobós, “docked”), from *kelh₂- “to strike, cut”.[1] Old forms clōdus and clūdus are found.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus, who calls a man lame, blind and dumb when given orders.[2][5][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant lame or limping, as Nepos' Agesilaus lame in one foot and Horace's limping foot of Punishment, which still overtakes the criminal.[6] It was used of halting rhythm and incomplete clauses in Quintilian, of a ship that has lost its oars, and of defective or imperfect things.[3][6]

Isidore says Vulcan is called lame because fire never moves straight.[7] Its verb claudicō “to limp” gave English claudication in the 1550s, and the Roman name Claudius was popularly linked with it.[8][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus calls a man lame, blind and dumb.[3][5]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos calls Agesilaus lame in one foot.[6][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace speaks of the limping foot of Punishment.[6][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian speaks of halting clauses.[3][5]
  • 1550s – English claudication is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Lame, limping.[3]
  2. (of rhythm, verse) Uneven, halting.[3]
  3. Defective, imperfect.[3]

Word family

  • claudīgō
  • clauditās
  • claudaster
  • claudeō
  • claudicō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Claudus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/claudus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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