Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Latin word exclaro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 84–c. 25 BC, Vitruvius
Ultimate origin
Latin clārō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin clarus
French clair
Italian chiaramente
Italian chiaro
Dutch klaar
Latin claro
Latin exclaro
From the same root
Latin clare ← clarus
Latin clarifico ← clarus
Latin clarificus ← clarus
Latin claritas ← clarus
Latin claritudo ← clarus
Latin praeclarus ← clarus

Forms

exclārō, exclārāre[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ex- + clārō (“to make bright”).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Vitruvius, who says that the northern region of the sky is neither brightened nor darkened by the course of the sun.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The medical writer Placitus says that an ointment of bull's gall brightens the eyes.[2] A medieval medical glossary uses it for clearing the voice.[4] The TLL, following Meyer-Lübke, gives Italian schiarare as its descendant.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of the brightening of the sky.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make bright, illuminate, light up.[1][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To make clear (the voice).[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Exclaro.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exclaro. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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