Etymologically
Log in

damno

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 06:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdam.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdam.no][1]

Forms

damnō (present infinitive damnāre, perfect active damnāvī, supine damnātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from damnum “loss, penalty” with the verbal suffix -ō.[2][1][3] ⟨Damnum⟩ goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dh₂pnóm, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- (“to divide, apportion”).[1] Vulgar and Late Latin also spell it ⟨dampnō⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are from Plautus, of condemning.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to pass judgement against, condemn, as Cicero's ille quoque damnātus est, for a crime or to a penalty, and to secure someone's condemnation, as in Plautus.[2][6] It meant to judge at fault, find fault with, to renounce or reject, as in Seneca, and to discredit by comparison.[2] It meant to deliver someone by sentence, to doom to a fate, as in Ovid, and with vōtī to oblige a god to fulfil a vow, as in Nepos, and under a will to bind, as in Horace.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to condemn.[7] It survives in Italian dannare, Spanish dañar and Romanian dăuna.[1] English damn came through Old French dampner in the late 13th century as a legal term.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of condemning.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of condemnation for crimes.[2][6][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of dooming to a fate.[2][5]
  • late 13th century – English damn is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To condemn, sentence.[2]
  2. To secure the condemnation of.[2]
  3. To find fault with; to reject.[2]
  4. To doom (to a fate).[2]
  5. vōtī damnāre, to oblige to fulfil a vow.[2]
  6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To damn.[7]

Word family

  • condemnō
  • damnābilis
  • damnātīcius
  • damnātiō
  • damnātor
  • dedamno
  • indemnātus
  • praedamnō
  • damnōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson