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Etymology and origin of the Latin word delicio

delicio1 lure

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
end of 2nd/beginning of 1st century BC, Titinius
Ultimate origin
Latin laciō
Etymology tree of delicio1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lacio
Latin delicio
From the same root · delicio1
Latin prolicio ← lacio

Forms

dēliciō, dēlicere; third conjugation (-iō), transitive[1][2][3]

Etymology

The verb meaning “lure” is from Latin dē- + laciō (“to entice”).[4][1][5] De Vaan reconstructs the base as Proto-Italic *lak-i- (“to draw, pull”), and doubts its traditional link with laqueus “noose”, since /kʷ/ would not have given ⟨c⟩ before ⟨i⟩.[4] The noun dēliciae “delight” belongs to the same base,[4][2] and Wiktionary derives it from this verb.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found only in the comic poet Titinius, in a line quoted by Nonius: “qui illum sciat delicere”, “who would know how to lure him away”.[7][1][8]

Semantic evolution

The verb is very rare: besides Titinius, the TLL cites only the participle in Grattius, of a wild animal lured.[7] Nonius explained delicere as inlicere, “to entice”.[7][9] Its relatives dēliciae, dēlectō and dēlicātus are all found from Plautus on.[4]

Timeline

  • end of 2nd/beginning of 1st century BC – Titinius uses it for luring someone away.[7][1][8]
  • end of 4th/beginning of 5th century AD – Nonius quotes the line and glosses the verb as inlicere.[7][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To lure or entice (someone away from what occupies them).[1][2][5][10]

Word family

  • dēliciae

delicio2 delight

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
beginning of 3rd century–258 AD, Cyprian
Ultimate origin
Latin dēliciae

Forms

dēliciō, dēliciāre, dēliciātus; first conjugation[3][7] Medieval texts also spell it delitio.[11]

Etymology

The verb meaning “delight” is from Latin dēliciae (“delight, pleasures”), a Late Latin formation.[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Old Latin versions of the Bible: Cyprian quotes 1 Timothy 5:11 as “cum enim deliciatae fuerint in Christo”, where the Vulgate has luxuriatae.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The passive, in the sense “to take delight, enjoy oneself”, was the common use;[7] Old Latin Bible texts have it where the Vulgate has delectari, lascivire or epulari,[7] and Christian writers used it for rejoicing “in the Lord” or “in Christ”.[7][3] The active “to delight, please” is rarer, as in Venantius Fortunatus.[7][3] A glossary equates deliciatur with epulatur, “feasts”.[7]

Medieval Latin kept both uses, with the active also meaning “to pamper”,[11][12] and the passive often of feasting, in images and allegories.[11]

Timeline

  • beginning of 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian quotes the Old Latin text of 1 Timothy with deliciatae.[7][8]
  • c. 345–411/412 AD – Rufinus, translating Origen, writes of those who will always delight in the Lord.[7][8]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the passive and the present participle.[7][8]
  • 536–c. 610 AD – Venantius Fortunatus uses the active, “delighting with varied jest”.[7][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Late Latin) To delight, please;[7][3][11][12] (Medieval Latin) to pamper.[7][3][11][12]
  2. (Late Latin, passive) To take delight, enjoy oneself, revel (in, with in and the ablative).[7][3][11]
  3. (Late and Medieval Latin, passive) To feast.[7][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d 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 Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  10. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  12. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
Cite this entry

“Delicio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/delicio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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