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diutinus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word diutinus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*di-eu-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [diˈuː.tɪ.nʊs], [diˈʊ.tɪ.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [diˈuː.ti.nus][1]

Forms

diū̆tinus (feminine diū̆tina, neuter diū̆tinum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the adverb diū (“for a long time”) with the suffix -tinus, as in crāstinus.[2][1][3] De Vaan takes that adverb as an old locative of the word for “day”, going back to Proto-Italic *djowi (“on the day”) and Proto-Indo-European *di-eu- (“day, sky”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[4][5] who has a punishment long and lasting from morning to evening.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It means lasting a long time, prolonged, and also having lasted long, long-standing, as Nepos' long quarrel.[2] Of persons it is constant over a long time: Turpilius speaks of a kind and long-standing friend.[2] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical, beside the commoner longinquus and diūturnus;[6] Cicero writes of a long servitude.[6] The OLD notes that it was probably pronounced in three syllables in Terence and Turpilius.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a long punishment.[2][4][5]
  • 2nd century BC – Turpilius of a long-standing friend.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a long servitude.[6]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos of a long quarrel.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Lasting a long time, prolonged, long-lasting.[2][6][1]
  2. Having lasted long, long-standing.[2]
  3. (of persons) Constant over a long time, inveterate.[2]

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 j k 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. ^ a b c 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 d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Diutinus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/diutinus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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