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expungo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word expungo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (pungō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pungo
Latin punctus
German bunt
German Punkt
Latin punctio
Latin pugio
Latin compungo
Latin expungo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛkˈspʊŋ.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ekˈspuŋ.ɡo][1]

Forms

expungō (present infinitive expungere, perfect active expūnxī, supine expūnctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + pungō (“to prick”).[2][3][4] De Vaan traces the simple verb to Proto-Italic *pung- (“to pierce, sting”) and Proto-Indo-European *pu-n(e)-g/k-.[5] The sense of striking out comes from marking a name on a list with points set above or below it.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds it from Plautus on.[5] Plautus uses it obscenely for pricking thoroughly, and also for crossing a name off a list: ut expungātur nōmen, nē quid dēbeam, “so that the name is struck off and I owe nothing”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The main sense was to mark off on a list, especially when a debt was settled or an obligation cancelled.[2] Plautus speaks of a soldier in a disbanded company, and the jurists of soldiers struck off the roll or deprived of their pay.[2][6] Lewis and Short call this use mostly ante- and post-classical and absent from Cicero.[6] Pliny the Elder uses it of listing the stars by name, Suetonius of checking the panels of jurors, and Apuleius of entering a sum as paid out to the people.[2] Seneca has it figuratively of cancelling one gift with another, mūnus mūnere expungere,[2][6] and Persius of getting a ward out of the way.[6] Tertullian uses it for performing or fulfilling.[6]

English expunge comes from it, first recorded about 1600.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of crossing off a debt.[2][7]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius uses it of getting rid of a ward.[6][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of listing the stars.[2][7]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of checking the jurors.[2][7]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of recording money paid out.[2][7]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it for fulfilling.[6][7]
  • c. 1600 – English borrows it as expunge.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To prick thoroughly (obscene).[2][6]
  2. To mark off on a list, strike out; to settle (a debt), cancel (an obligation); to strike (a soldier) off the roll.[2][6]
  3. To record as paid out.[2]
  4. (figurative) To get out of the way, remove.[6]
  5. (Late Latin) To perform, fulfil.[6]

Word family

  • expunctio
  • expunctor
  • expunctrix
  • expunctus

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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

“Expungo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/expungo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·