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divinitus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word divinitus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*dei-u-o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin divinus
Latin divinitas
Latin divinitus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [diːˈwiː.nɪ.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [diˈviː.ni.tus][1]

Forms

dīvīnitus (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dīvīnus (“divine”) + -itus, an adverb of origin, from the gods.[2][3][1] The grammarian Priscian explained it as “from the gods”.[3] dīvīnus is from dīvus (“god”), which de Vaan, with deus (“god”), traces to Proto-Italic *deiwo- and Proto-Indo-European *dei-u-o- (“god, god of the clear sky”).[4][5] Cognate with Oscan deívaí (“to the goddess”) and Old Irish día (“god”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Ennius.[5] The OLD's first example is Plautus' Amphitruo: “help has been brought from heaven”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means by divine agency or inspiration: Cicero speaks of something not acquired by us but brought to us from heaven, and of things that happen by divine will, and Lucretius uses it too.[2][6] Cicero also uses it of supreme excellence, divinely, as when he praises a speaker for gathering everything so well that he could teach the Greeks themselves.[2] Church Latin glosses it by divine help, from heaven.[7]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of help from heaven.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of what comes from the gods.[6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of divine excellence.[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. By divine agency or inspiration, from heaven.[2][6][7][1]
  2. In a godlike manner, divinely, admirably.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b 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 e f 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Divinitus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/divinitus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·