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dido

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word dido

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (dō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin do
Latin dedo
Latin dediticius
Latin deditio
Latin reddo
Latin dido
Latin prodo
Latin proditio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈdiː.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈdiː.do][1]

Forms

dīdō (present infinitive dīdere, perfect active dīdidī, supine dīditum); third conjugation[1] Cato has the perfect disdidī.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- + dō (“to give”).[2][1][4] De Vaan lists it among the compounds of dō, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *di-d(e)h₃- (“to give”).[4] The TLL allows that the second part may instead be the verb found in abdō and condō, and compares Ancient Greek διαδίδωμι (diadídōmi, “to distribute”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.[4] In the OLD's earliest quotation, from Plautus, a character says he will distribute his goods among his relatives.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it archaic and poetic, frequent in Lucretius and found once in Tacitus.[3] Lucretius uses it of food spread through the veins.[2] Cato has the older form ⟨disdidī⟩.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of distributing goods.[2][4][6]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato has the form disdidi.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of food spread through the veins.[2][6]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it once.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To distribute, deal out.[2][3][1]
  2. To spread, diffuse, disseminate.[2][3][1]

Usage notes

Dīdō, the name of the queen and foundress of Carthage, has its own entry in the OLD; it comes from Ancient Greek Διδώ (Didṓ).[2][1] Köbler dates it from Virgil and suggests a Phoenician origin with a question mark.[6]

References

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

“Dido.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/dido. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·