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curiatus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word curiatus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (cūria)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin curia
Latin curiatus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kuː.riˈaː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ku.riˈaː.tus][1]

Forms

cūriātus (feminine cūriāta, neuter cūriātum); first/second-declension adjective[1] Inscriptions also have cūriātius.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin cūria + -ātus.[2][3] De Vaan reports that cūria is mostly explained as *ko-wir-ijā, an assembly of men, from vir (“man”), and notes that the development must be older than the usual ⟨con-⟩ before ⟨v⟩.[4] Festus derived the name of the assembly from the curiae.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero, who writes in his speeches on the agrarian law about the curiate assembly and the law it passed.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The comitia cūriāta was the assembly in which the Roman people voted by curiae.[2][6] Lewis & Short describe it as originally the only ruling assembly, later limited by the centuriate assembly to adoptions, the choice of priests and the conferring of command.[6] A lēx cūriāta was a law passed by it, and the lictor cūriātus was the official who summoned it.[2] Livy and Gellius use the terms too.[6] Inscriptions have the form ⟨cūriātius⟩.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the curiate assembly and its law.[6][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of the curiate law.[6][5]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius of the curiate assembly.[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the cūriae;[2][6][3][1] comitia cūriāta, the assembly of the people voting by curiae;[2][6][3][1] lēx cūriāta, a law passed by it;[2][6][3][1] lictor cūriātus, the lictor who summoned it.[2][6][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Curiatus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/curiatus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·