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dimoveo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word dimoveo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*mewh₁-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin moveo
Latin demoveo
Latin amoveo
Latin permoveo
Latin admoveo
Latin dimoveo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [diːˈmɔ.we.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [diˈmɔː.ve.o][1]

Forms

dīmoveō (present infinitive dīmovēre, perfect active dīmōvī, supine dīmōtum); second conjugation[1] An inscription has dism-; it is often confused with dēmoveō in manuscripts.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- (“apart”) + moveō (“to move”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨moveō⟩ to Proto-Italic *mow(a)-, from Proto-Indo-European *mi̯ewh₁- (“to move”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Lucretius, of parting.[2] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to part, cleave, as in Virgil's terram arātrō dīmovēre “to part the earth with the plough”; to displace, remove, as in Horace; and in Celsus to move about, exercise.[2][6] Lewis & Short note it is not frequent before the Augustan age.[3]

Italian dismuovere and Old French desmovoir are semi-learned borrowings from it.[1]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of ploughing.[6][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of removing.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To part, cleave.[2]
  2. To displace, remove.[2]
  3. To move about, exercise.[2]

Word family

  • dīmōtus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Dimoveo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/dimoveo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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