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elatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word elatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin efferō#1
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin effero
Latin elatio
From the same root
Latin efferatus ← effero
Latin elatus ← effero

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [eːˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

ēlātiō f (genitive ēlātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin efferō1 (“to carry out, raise”) + -tiō, formed on the participle ēlātus.[2][1] That verb is ē (“out”) with ferō (“to carry”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,[3][4] who uses it of loftiness of style: in the Brutus the elevated speech of Theopompus overshadows earlier writers (elatione atque altitudine orationis suae).[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it is also the amplifying of a point.[5] Vitruvius uses it literally of lifting loads,[2][5] the Arval Brothers' acts of AD 183 of a ritual carrying out of iron,[2][6] and Ulpian of carrying a dead person to burial.[6][7] Grammarians used the plural elationes for the raising of the voice, the arsis.[5] The TLL notes that poets avoid it.[4]

The Vulgate speaks of the swelling waves of the sea (elationes maris),[7][6] and Christian writers use it often for pride,[4] its usual sense in Ecclesiastical and Medieval Latin.[8][9] English elation at first meant arrogance and vainglory (late 14th century).[10]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of an elevated style.[2][3]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of lifting loads.[2][3]
  • AD 183 – The acts of the Arval Brothers record a ritual carrying out of iron.[2]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of carrying a body to burial.[6][3]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of the waves of the sea.[7][3]
  • late 14th century – English elation appears, meaning arrogance.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A carrying out; a carrying to the grave, burial.[2][7]
  2. Lifting, raising, elevation.[2][7]
  3. Extolling, amplification.[2][5]
  4. Loftiness of thought or style; exaltation of mind.[2][5]
  5. (grammar) The raising of the voice, arsis.[5]
  6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Pride, self-exaltation.[4][8][9]

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. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Elatio.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/elatio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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