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curriculum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word curriculum

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kʊrˈrɪ.kʊ.ɫũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kurˈriː.ku.lum][1]

Forms

curriculum n (genitive curriculī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from currō “to run” with the suffix -culum.[2][1][3] Grammarians cite a masculine ⟨curriculus⟩ from Cicero.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are from Plautus, of running and of a race.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant running, with curriculō “at a run”, as Plautus' curriculum facere “to make one dash”, and the course of the heavens, as in Cicero.[2][5] Figuratively it meant a course of action.[2] It meant a race, a lap, a planet's circuit, as in Varro, and the race of life.[2] It meant a racetrack, figuratively a field for one's talents, as in Cicero, and a chariot, especially a racing chariot, as in Varro.[2] Lewis and Short call it mostly ante-classical.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a course, career.[7] In Medieval Latin it meant a period of time, a chariot, and Charles's Wain.[8][9] English curriculum was borrowed in 1824 in the sense of a course of study, and English curricle for a light carriage.[3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of running and a race.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a lap and a chariot.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the course of the heavens.[2][4]
  • 1824 – English curriculum is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Running, curriculō, at a run.[2]
  2. A course (of the heavens; of action).[2]
  3. A race; a lap; the race of life.[2]
  4. A racetrack; a field (for talents).[2]
  5. A racing chariot.[2]

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 n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Curriculum.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/curriculum. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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