Etymology and origin of the Latin word conciliatus
conciliatus1 favourably disposed
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 81–43 BC, Cicero
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-
From the same root · conciliatus1
Forms
conciliātus (feminine conciliāta, neuter conciliātum, comparative conciliātior, superlative conciliātissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]
Etymology
The adjective “favourably disposed” is from Latin conciliō (“to bring together, win over”), its perfect participle.[1][3] That verb is formed from concilium (“assembly, union”), which de Vaan places with the old verb calō1 (“to call, summon”); he traces this to Proto-Italic *kela- and Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call”).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates the adjective from Cicero.[5] Livy uses it of a man made welcome to the common people, plēbī conciliātum.[6][7]
Semantic evolution
It means first “endeared”, liked by someone (with the dative), as in Livy and Curtius,[7][2] and then inclined or well disposed towards something: Quintilian wants the judge to become conciliātior, better disposed,[7][6] and Gellius speaks of a man drawn by nature towards pleasure.[2][7] Symmachus has the superlative conciliātissimus.[2]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses the adjective.[5]
- 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a man liked by the plebs.[6][5]
- c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses the comparative of a judge better disposed to a case.[7][6][5]
- c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of a man inclined by nature towards pleasure.[2][5]
- c. 340–402 AD – Symmachus uses the superlative.[2][5]
Meanings
Adjective
conciliatus2 union
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 96–55 BC, Lucretius
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-
From the same root · conciliatus2
Forms
conciliātus m (genitive conciliātūs); fourth declension[1][2] It is found only in the ablative singular, conciliātū.[8][3]
Etymology
The noun “union” is from Latin conciliō (“to bring together”) + -tus, a noun of action.[1][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is a word of Lucretius,[3][8] dated by Köbler to 96–55 BC;[5] he uses it of the joining of the atoms, which can be packed tight condensō conciliātū, “by close union”.[8][3]
Semantic evolution
Lucretius uses it always in the ablative and at the end of a verse, of the coming together of the first bodies into larger masses, and of a body formed without such a union of seed.[3][8] The TLL records one later use, in a commentary on Hosea once ascribed to Rufinus, in the sense of conciliation.[3]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry
“Conciliatus.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/conciliatus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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