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confluo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word confluo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*bʰlewH-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fluo
Latin circumfluo
Latin confluo
Latin defluo
Latin diffluo
Latin effluo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkõː.fɫu.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔɱ.flu.o][1]

Forms

cōnfluō (present infinitive cōnfluere, perfect active cōnflūxī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1] Lucretius has confluxet for confluxisset, and an inscription comfluont.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin con- (“together”) + fluō (“to flow”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨fluō⟩ to Proto-Italic *flow-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- (“to flow”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the OLD's earliest citations are Plautus and Lucretius.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Lucretius 96–55 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Of rivers and liquids it meant to flow together, meet, as of two rivers joining before falling into another, and of other things to come together, gather, as in Lucretius; of persons and animals, to flock together, assemble, as in Varro, Cicero and Caesar.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to flow together, resort to.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of flowing together.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of people flocking.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (of rivers, liquids) To flow together, meet, (of things) to gather.[2]
  2. (of people, animals) To flock together, assemble.[2]

Word family

  • cōnfluentia
  • cōnfluvium
  • cōnfluus
  • cōnfluēns
  • cōnflūgēs

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Confluo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/confluo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·