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condenso

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word condenso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC Varro More words from the 2nd century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin dēnsus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin dēnsus
Latin condēnsō
English condense
Derivations
From the same root
Latin condēnsus ← dēnsus
Latin dēnseō ← dēnsus
Latin dēnsitās ← dēnsus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔnˈdẽː.soː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [konˈdɛn.so][1]

Forms

condēnsō (present infinitive condēnsāre, perfect active condēnsāvī, supine condēnsātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin con- + dēnsō (“to thicken”),[2][1] the verb being from Latin dēnsus (“dense, thick”);[1] the TLL allows a derivation from either the adjective or the verb.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL and the OLD first record it in Varro,[3][2] who uses it of sheep that crowd together in one place.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Lucretius has a parallel form condenseō.[4] The Bellum Africum uses it of closing up a battle line, and Columella of packing earth hard, as for the floor of a granary.[4][2] The TLL notes that it is rare at first and more frequent later.[3]

Medieval writers used it for gathering things together and, in natural science, for the thickening of moist matter or vapour.[5] English condense (early 15th century) came from Old French condenser or directly from Latin.[6]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of sheep crowding together.[2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius has the form condenseō.[4][7]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of earth pressed hard.[2][7]
  • early 15th century – English borrows condense.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pack closely together, crowd; in the passive, to grow thickly.[2][4]
  2. To make hard or firm by compressing.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To gather together; to condense or thicken.[5]

Word family

References

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

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Condenso.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/condenso. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·