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deintus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word deintus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
after 220 AD, Itala
Ultimate origin
Latin dē,intus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin de
French de
Italian da
Italian di
Italian dove
Latin deintus
French dans
French dedans
From the same root
Latin deforis ← de
Latin denuo ← de
Latin deretro ← de
Latin desuper ← de
Latin desursum ← de
French davantage ← de
French debout ← de
French devant ← de
Italian dappertutto ← da
Italian davvero ← da

Forms

dēintus (also written as two words, dē intus)[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē (“from”) + intus (“inside”).[3][1] The TLL and Wiktionary give it as the source of French dans (“in”),[3][1] and of Catalan dins and Old French denz.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first text is the Old Latin Bible (Itala), in Exodus, where it renders a Greek adverb “from within” and is set against dēforīs.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb it means “from within, inside”: Vegetius uses it in his veterinary work,[5][6] and the Vulgate has it in Luke (11:7, 11:40), where it is opposed to dēforīs.[7][8] Wiktionary calls it a proscribed Late Latin word.[1]

Medieval writers also use it as a preposition, “in, within”,[9][2] and figuratively for what comes “from the heart”.[2] Bede has it of speaking with visitors from inside, through a window.[10]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Itala, Exodus: “from within”.[3][4]
  • c. 400 AD – Vegetius, Mulomedicina.[5][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate, Luke 11:7 and 11:40.[7][4]
  • early 8th century – Bede, Life of Cuthbert.[10][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (Late Latin) From within, from inside.[7][5][1]
  2. (Late Latin) inside, within, on the inside.[6][10]
  3. (Medieval Latin) From the heart, from inner conviction.[2]

Preposition

  1. (Medieval Latin) in, within.[9][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b c 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

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Deintus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/deintus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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