Etymologically
Log in

effero

Etymology and origin of the Latin word effero

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (ferō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɛf.fɛ.roː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛf.fe.ro][1]

Forms

efferō (present infinitive efferre, perfect active extulī, supine ēlātum); third conjugation, suppletive[1] It is also spelled ecferō, in an inscription exf-; the perfect is extulī and the participle ēlātus.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and ferō “to carry”.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of carrying out for burial and of uttering words.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to carry out, as Cicero's weapons carried out of Cethegus' house, and in Plautus to carry out for burial.[2][5] In Plautus it also meant to utter and to make known, in Cicero of fields to yield crops, and in Vitruvius to give off.[2] From Cicero it meant to lift, raise, and to exalt a person, and in Caesar to build upwards.[2] The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of exaggerating in speech, and Cicero, in the passive, of being carried away by emotion; in Accius it meant to endure to the end.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to raise up, exalt, publish.[6] Its participle ēlātus gave English elate in the 1570s, and ēlātiō gave English elation.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of burial and of uttering.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of raising and exalting.[2][4]
  • 1570s – English elate is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To carry out; to carry out for burial.[2]
  2. To utter; to make known.[2]
  3. To yield (crops); to give off.[2]
  4. To lift, raise; to exalt.[2]
  5. To exaggerate.[2]
  6. In the passive, to be carried away (by emotion).[2]
  7. To carry through, endure.[2]

Word family

  • ēlātiō
  • ēlātē
  • ēlātus

Usage notes

A separate verb efferō, efferāre, from efferus “wild”, means to make savage.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Effero.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/effero. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·