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comitium

Etymology and origin of the Latin word comitium

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Twelve Tables
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₁ey-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɔˈmɪ.ti.ũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koˈmit.t͡si.um][1]

Forms

comitium n (genitive comitiī or comitī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from con- “together” and eō “to go”, with the suffix -ium, “a coming together”, like comes “companion”.[2][3][1] De Vaan explains ⟨comes⟩ as ⟨com-⟩ with the root for “to go”, Proto-Indo-European ⟨*h₁i-t-⟩ “goer”.[4] Festus and Varro already derived it from ⟨coīre⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from the Twelve Tables, of the place of assembly.[2] Köbler dates them about 450 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It was the place in the Forum where the Roman people met for legislative and judicial business.[2] In the plural comitia was an assembly of the people to elect magistrates, as in Cato, or to pass laws or give judgement, as in Plautus.[2]

British Medieval Latin used comitia for a law-court, moot or assembly, and in the universities for the commencement ceremony.[7] It was borrowed into Italian comizio “rally” and French comice.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables use it.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of an assembly.[2][6]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses comitia of elections.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The Comitium, the place of assembly in the Forum.[2]
  2. (plural) An assembly of the Roman people for elections.[2]
  3. A legislative or judicial assembly.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A law-court; a university commencement.[7]

Word family

  • comitiālis
  • comitianus

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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ 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 Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Comitium.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/comitium. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·