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copulo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word copulo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (apiō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkoː.pʊ.ɫoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔː.pu.lo][1]

Forms

cōpulō (present infinitive cōpulāre, perfect active cōpulāvī, supine cōpulātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from cōpula “bond” with the verb suffix -ō.[2][1][3][4] Lucretius has the contracted ⟨cōplāta⟩, and a deponent ⟨cōpulor⟩ is also found.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of uniting persons and forming an association.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to join physically, connect, couple, as Cicero's man joined to a beast, and in Pliny the Elder in the passive to be adjacent.[2][7] From Plautus it meant to unite persons, ally, and in Livy to unite in feeling.[2] From Varro it meant to connect words or ideas and to make by joining, in Pliny the Elder to trill a song, and in Plautus to form a friendship or marriage.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to join together, and to join or bless in marriage.[8] It survives in Italian accoppiare and French coupler, and its participle gave English copulate in the early 15th century, “to join”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of uniting persons.[2][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of connecting words.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of joining things.[2][6]
  • early 15th century – English copulate is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To join, connect, couple; to be adjacent.[2]
  2. To unite, ally.[2]
  3. To connect (words, ideas).[2]
  4. To make by joining; to form (a friendship, a marriage).[2]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To join in marriage.[8]

Word family

  • cōpulābilis
  • cōpulātē
  • cōpulātiō
  • cōpulātīvē
  • cōpulātīvus
  • cōpulātor
  • cōpulātrīx
  • cōpulātus
  • cōpulor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Copulo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/copulo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·