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exaequo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exaequo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (aequus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin aequus
Latin aeque
Latin aequiter
Latin iniquus
Latin inique
Latin aequo
Latin adaequo
Latin exaequo
Latin aequalis
English equal
French égal
French également
Latin aequaliter
Latin inaequalis

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛkˈsae̯.kʷoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eɡˈzɛː.kʷo][1]

Forms

exaequō (present infinitive exaequāre, perfect active exaequāvī, supine exaequātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + aequō (“to make level, equal”).[2][1] The verb aequō is made from aequus (“level, equal”),[3] which probably goes back to ⟨*aikʷos⟩, though de Vaan finds no convincing etymology.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first example in the OLD is in Plautus, “we'll make up silver with silver”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to make completely level or smooth, as Varro's entrance levelled with plaster, and in the Bellum Hispaniense mounds made level with mounds.[2][4] It also means to make equal or put on the same footing, as Cicero's man who had made all rights equal for a price, to make up for something, and to be equal to or match, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[2] Church Latin glosses it “equal, make equal”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of making up silver with silver.[2][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of a levelled entrance.[2][6]
  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium of syllables that match.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of rights made equal for a price.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make level, smooth out.[2][4]
  2. To make equal, put on the same footing.[2][5][1]
  3. To compensate for, make up for.[2][1]
  4. To equal, match.[2]

Word family

  • exaequātiō

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 i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Exaequo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exaequo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·