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difficulter

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word difficulter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC, Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (faciō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin difficilis
French difficile
Latin difficulter
Latin difficile

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪf.fɪˈkʊɫ.tɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dif.fiˈkul.ter][1]

Forms

difficulter (comparative difficilius, superlative difficillimē)[1]

Etymology

It is an adverb from Latin difficilis (“difficult”),[1][2] a by-form of difficiliter, which is from Latin difficilis + -ter.[3] That adjective is made from dis- and facilis (“easy”),[3] which de Vaan lists among the derivatives of faciō (“to do, make”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges names Varro and Caesar as its first users;[5] Köbler dates it from Caesar.[6]

Semantic evolution

It means "with difficulty".[3][1][7] Georges calls difficulter the usual form, difficiliter rare (Cicero, Vitruvius, Celsus), and difficile another one (Velleius, Celsus); all three share the comparative difficilius and the superlative difficillimē.[5][1] It also means reluctantly: Livy writes that the other states would accept the yoke without difficulty, and Seneca of someone who promised, but reluctantly, with eyebrows raised.[3]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro.[5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar.[5][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of states accepting the yoke.[3]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of a reluctant promise.[3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With difficulty.[3][7][1]
  2. Reluctantly.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ 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 c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Difficulter.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/difficulter. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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