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emigro

Etymology and origin of the Latin word emigro

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (migrō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈeː.mɪ.ɡroː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛː.mi.ɡro][1]

Forms

ēmigrō (present infinitive ēmigrāre, perfect active ēmigrāvī, supine ēmigrātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and migrō “to move, depart”.[2][1][3] De Vaan reconstructs ⟨migrō⟩ as Proto-Italic *migro-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂mi-gʷ-ro- (“changing”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short quote Plautus.[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to move out of a house or district, change one's dwelling, as in Cicero's ē domō ēmigrāre, and Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.[2][5][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to depart, wander forth, leave, emigrate.[8] English emigrate (1763, first of the Acadians) is a back-formation from emigration or from the Latin participle ēmigrātus.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[5][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of moving house.[7][6]
  • 1763 – English emigrate is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To move out, change one's dwelling; to emigrate.[2][8]

Word family

  • ēmigrātiō
  • admigrō
  • commigrō
  • dēmigrō
  • immigrō
  • migrō
  • remigrō
  • sēmigrō
  • transmigrō
  • English emigrate

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Emigro.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/emigro. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·