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exprobratio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exprobratio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*pro-bʰr-o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin exprobro
Latin exprobratio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.sproːˈbraː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ek.sproˈbrat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

exprōbrātiō f (genitive exprōbrātiōnis); third declension[1] Often written exprobātiō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin exprōbrō (“to reproach, upbraid”) + -tiō.[4][1][2] That verb is made from ex- and probrum (“shameful act, reproach”),[1] which de Vaan explains as an old adjective, Proto-Italic *pro-fr-o-, from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰr-o- (“what is brought up (against someone)”), with the root “to bring”.[5] He compares Avestan fra-bar- (“to bring, offer”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Terence,[5] whose Andria has istaec commemoratio quasi exprobratio est immemoris beneficii, “such a reminder is almost a reproach for a forgotten kindness”.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of reproaching, and with a genitive a reproach for something:[4] Livy has exprobratio veteris fortunae, a taunt about someone's former condition, and Justin a reproach of cruelty and of boyish fickleness.[6][7] Seneca contrasts it with admonition: admonition breeds weariness, reproach hatred.[7] Lewis & Short note that Cicero does not use it.[6]

Medieval writers in Britain use it for reproach, and one text glosses it with Middle English upbrud.[3]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence calls a reminder of a kindness almost a reproach.[6][5][8]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a taunt about past fortune.[6][8]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca contrasts reproach with admonition.[7][8]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.[6][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of reproaching; reproach, upbraiding.[4][6][1]
  2. (with a genitive) A reproach arising from or about something, a taunt.[4][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Exprobratio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exprobratio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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