Etymologically
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convexus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word convexus

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Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɔnˈwɛk.sʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koɱˈvɛk.sus][1]

Forms

convexus (feminine convexa, neuter convexum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

De Vaan connects it with vehō “to carry”, so that convehō gave convexus “moving along (outwards)” and dēvexus “moving down, sloping”.[2][1][3] The OLD follows Walde and Hofmann in comparing Sanskrit वञ्चति (váñcati, “goes crookedly”), which de Vaan rejects because that root had a nasal which could not have been lost in Latin.[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cicero, whose Aratea speaks of the arching vault of the sky.[2][3][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant curving outwards, arched or vaulted, and especially of the sky, convexa caelī “the vault of heaven”, as Lewis and Short quote a definition of the sky inclined on every side towards the earth.[4][5] Seen from inside the same shape was hollow, so it could also mean sunken or concave, as Virgil's hollow path of a wood and Pliny's valley.[4] Ovid uses it of curving horns.[6]

Medieval poets kept the neuter convexa for the vault of heaven.[7] It survives in Italian convesso and French convexe, from which English convex was borrowed in the 1570s.[1][8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the arching vault of the sky.[4][3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a hollow path.[4][3]
  • 1570s – English convex is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Curving outwards, arched, convex.[4]
  2. Hollowed, sunken, concave.[4]
  3. Curved, sloping.[6]

Noun

  1. convexum (usually plural) A vault, especially the vault of heaven.[5][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Convexus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/convexus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·