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diffluo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word diffluo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Terence
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*bʰlewH-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fluo
Latin circumfluo
Latin confluo
Latin defluo
Latin diffluo
Latin effluo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdɪf.fɫu.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdif.flu.o][1]

Forms

diffluō (present infinitive diffluere, perfect active difflūxī, supine difflūxum); third conjugation, no passive[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- (“apart”) + fluō (“to flow”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨fluō⟩ to Proto-Italic *flow-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- (“to flow”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Terence and Lucretius.[2] Köbler dates Terence 190–159 BC and Lucretius 96–55 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to flow away in all directions, as repeatedly in Lucretius; to waste or wear away, dissolve; and to become enervated by luxury, or to dissolve in laughter, as in Terence and Cicero.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to flow freely, fall out, dissolve, melt.[7] It survives in French diffluer and Spanish and Portuguese difluir.[1]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of dissolving.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of flowing away.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To flow away in all directions.[2]
  2. To waste or wear away.[2]
  3. To become enervated by indulgence; to dissolve (in laughter).[2]

Word family

  • diffluus
  • diffluxiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Diffluo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/diffluo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·