Etymologically
Log in

concelo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word concelo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 165 Aulus Gellius More words from the 2nd century
Ultimate origin
Latin cēlō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin cēlō
Latin concēlō
English conceal
From the same root
English concealment ← conceal

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔŋˈkeː.ɫoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kon̠ʲˈt͡ʃɛː.lo][1]

Forms

concēlō (present infinitive concēlāre, perfect active concēlāvī, supine concēlātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin con- + cēlō (“to hide”), with the prefix strengthening the verb: “to hide thoroughly”.[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is found in Aulus Gellius (about AD 165), in the sense “to keep secret”: someone did not afterwards keep a thing concealed, and elsewhere errors are hidden.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In ancient Latin it is known only from two passages of Gellius.[5][3] It reappears in the Frankish capitularies, which forbid anyone to hide runaway slaves or to conceal unlawful marriages.[6] In British Medieval Latin it meant “to hide, conceal”, and especially to hide an offence or a liability unlawfully.[7] English conceal, recorded from the early 14th century, comes from Old French conceler, which goes back to this verb.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 165 AD – Aulus Gellius uses it twice, of keeping a matter secret and of hiding errors.[2][3][4]
  • 1301 – A royal letter in Walsingham's chronicle uses it of concealing misdeeds.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To conceal carefully, keep altogether secret.[2][5][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To hide (a person or thing).[6][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin, law) To conceal (an offence or liability) unlawfully.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c d 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
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Concelo.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/concelo. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·