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desudo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word desudo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin sūdō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sudo
Latin desudo
From the same root
Latin sudarium ← sudo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈsuː.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈs̬uː.do][1]

Forms

dēsūdō (present infinitive dēsūdāre, perfect active dēsūdāvī, supine dēsūdātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē- + sūdō (“to sweat”).[2][3][1] The TLL compares dēsūdāscō (“to break into a sweat”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it from Cicero on;[3] in On Old Age he uses it figuratively, of someone toiling and labouring at exercises of the mind.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense, “to sweat freely”, is found in Celsus, of sweating in the bath, and in Statius.[2][4] The figurative “to exert oneself, toil” was the more common, and the word is mostly post-Augustan.[4] Transitive use begins with Palladius.[3]

In Medieval Latin it meant to toil and strive, and more loosely to apply oneself, serve, deserve well or devote oneself.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of mental exertion.[2][4][6]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of sweating in the bath.[2][6]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius has the literal sense.[4][6]
  • end of 4th/beginning of 5th century AD – Palladius uses it transitively.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sweat or perspire freely.[2][4]
  2. (figurative) To exert oneself, toil, labour.[2][4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To apply oneself; to serve; to devote oneself.[5]

Word family

  • dēsūdātiō
  • dēsūdascō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Desudo.” Etymologically, 25 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/desudo. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·