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exsolvo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exsolvo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (solvō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin luo
Latin eluo
Latin solvo
English solve
French sol
Latin exsolvo
Latin absolvo
Latin insolubilis
English insoluble
Latin dissolvo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛksˈsɔɫ.woː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eksˈsɔl.vo][1]

Forms

exsolvō (present infinitive exsolvere, perfect active exsolvī, supine exsolūtum); third conjugation[1] It is also spelled exolvō.[2] Lucretius and Ovid scan the ⟨u⟩ as a vowel (exsolŭātur, exsolŭisse).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + solvō (“to loosen, pay”).[2][1] De Vaan analyses ⟨solvō⟩ as a compound of ⟨*se-⟩ “away” and luō (“to loosen”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[4] In the Amphitruo it is to undo a casket (exsolve cistulam), and in the Bacchides a man asks to be quickly untied.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to unfasten or loosen, to open the veins (Tacitus), to thaw ice (Lucretius), and in Lucretius also to solve a problem.[2] It is to set free from bonds, difficulties or obligations, as Terence's “I will free myself of this suspicion”, and to put an end to something, as Ovid's long hunger broken.[2][3] It is to discharge a vow or promise, to pay money or a penalty, as Velleius' man who paid for his bad plans, and to award rewards and punishments (Livy).[2]

Church Latin glosses it “pay back, restore, present; loose”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of untying and of paying vows.[2][4][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of freeing oneself from suspicion.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of thawing ice.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of awarding rewards and punishments.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To unfasten, loosen, untie; to open (the veins); to thaw.[2][1][3]
  2. To set free, release (from bonds, obligations).[2][1]
  3. To put an end to.[2][1]
  4. To perform, discharge (vows, promises).[2][5]
  5. To pay (a debt, a penalty); to award (rewards, punishments).[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c 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

“Exsolvo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exsolvo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·