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expolio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word expolio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (poliō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin polio
Latin expolio
Latin politus
English polite

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛkˈspɔ.li.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ekˈspɔː.li.o][1]

Forms

expoliō (present infinitive expolīre, perfect active expolīvī or expoliī, supine expolītum); fourth conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + poliō (“to smooth, polish”).[2][1][3] The origin of poliō is unclear: de Vaan rejects or doubts the proposals that link it to polinō or to Germanic words for beating.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first,[3] of a house that is well built and finished, and of parents who polish their children's manners and teach them their letters.[2]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense is to smooth or polish a surface: Catullus' little book is polished with pumice, Vitruvius finishes a place with marble, and Pliny the Elder says garments are smoothed with hedgehog skin.[2][4] Cato uses it of villas finished with citron wood and ivory.[2]

Plautus also applies it to adorning oneself.[2][4] In a figurative sense it means to refine a person, as in Cicero's De oratore, and to bring a plan, an argument or a style to perfection, as in Plautus, Cicero, Lucretius and Quintilian.[2][4][5] Plautus once uses it comically for ruining oneself.[4] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to polish or redecorate.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of finishing a house and of refining children.[2][3][7]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of villas finished with citron wood and ivory.[2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of arts being perfected.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of refining a person and an argument.[2][7]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus has a book polished with pumice.[2][7]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of finishing with marble.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To smooth down, polish (a surface); to finish (a building) with a smooth surface.[2][4]
  2. To embellish, adorn (a person).[2][4]
  3. To polish, refine (a person's manners or mind).[2][4]
  4. To bring to perfection, give a finish to (a plan, argument or style).[2][4][5]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To polish, redecorate.[6]

Word family

  • expolītiō
  • expolitor

Usage notes

A first-conjugation expoliō, -āre, “to plunder, strip”, is a variant of exspoliō, from spolium.[2][5][1]

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 l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d 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 c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Expolio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/expolio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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