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coalesco

Etymology and origin of the Latin word coalesco

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (alēscō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ko.aˈɫeːs.koː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ko.aˈlɛs.ko][1]

Forms

coalēscō (present infinitive coalēscere, perfect active coaluī, supine coalitum); third conjugation, no passive[1]

Etymology

It is from con- “together” and alēscō “to grow”.[2][1][3][4] Varro and Lucretius have contracted forms such as ⟨colēscere⟩ and ⟨coluērunt⟩, and the participle ⟨coalitus⟩ is found only from Tacitus on.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD cites Varro's contracted colēscat and Lucretius for growing together.[2][5] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC and Lucretius 96–55 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to grow or be joined together, coalesce, as Lucretius' stones bound by mere lime, and in Columella of a wound to close.[2][7] In Apuleius it meant to be formed by coalescence.[2] From Sallust it meant to unite, become one people, to take root and grow strong, and of abstract things to become settled, established.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to grow together, unite.[8] English coalesce came in the 1540s, and Late Latin coalitus “fellowship” gave French coalition and English coalition in the 1610s.[4]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses the form colēscat.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of stones joined by lime.[7][6]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of peoples uniting.[2][6]
  • 1540s – English coalesce is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To grow together, coalesce; of a wound, to close.[2]
  2. To be formed by coalescence.[2]
  3. To unite.[2]
  4. To take root; to grow strong.[2]
  5. To become established.[2]

Word family

  • coalitus

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Coalesco.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/coalesco. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·