Etymologically
Log in

discludo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word discludo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kleh₂w-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin claudo
Latin secludo
Latin recludo
Latin includo
Latin discludo
Latin praecludo

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [dɪsˈkɫuː.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [disˈkluː.do][1]

Forms

disclūdō (present infinitive disclūdere, perfect active disclūsī, supine disclūsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- (“apart”) + claudō (“to shut”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨claudō⟩ to Proto-Italic *klaud-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u-d- (“to shut”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

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

Semantic evolution

It meant to separate off by a barrier, keep apart, shut off or out.[2][6] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical, and already obsolete in Macrobius' time.[6]

Through Old French desclore “to open”, whose participle desclos meant open, exposed, it gave English disclose (late 14th century), and it survives as Italian dischiudere and Romanian deschide “to open”.[7][1]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English disclose is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To separate by a barrier, keep apart, shut off or out.[2][6]

Word family

  • disclūsiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Discludo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/discludo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·