Etymologically
Log in

emoveo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word emoveo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (moveō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [eːˈmɔ.we.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈmɔː.ve.o][1]

Forms

ēmoveō (present infinitive ēmovēre, perfect active ēmōvī, supine ēmōtum); second conjugation[1] Plautus has exmoveō, and Livy the syncopated perfect ēmōstis.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and moveō “to move”.[2][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has the form exmoveō.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to remove people from a place, expel, as in Livy, who has ē forō ēmovēre “to drive from the Forum”, and to shift, dislodge a thing, as in Virgil.[2][6] In Ovid it meant to thrust forward.[2]

Through Old French esmovoir “to stir up” it lies behind French émotion and English emotion (1570s, “a moving, stirring, agitation”).[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses exmoveō.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of dislodging.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of expelling people.[2][5]
  • 1570s – English emotion is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To remove, expel.[2]
  2. To dislodge, shift.[2]
  3. To thrust forward.[2]

Word family

  • ēmōtus

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 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Emoveo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/emoveo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·