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fissura

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word fissura

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 47 Scribonius Largus
Ultimate origin
Latin findō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin findō
Latin fissūra
English fissure
From the same root
Latin diffindō ← findō
Latin fissiō ← findō
Latin fissum ← findō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [fɪsˈsuː.ra], [fɪsˈsuː.raː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [fisˈsuː.ra], [fisˈsuː.ra][1]

Forms

fissūra f (genitive fissūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin findō (“to split, cleave”) + -ūra.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces the verb to a nasal present Proto-Indo-European *bʰi-n-d- (“to cleave”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Scribonius Largus;[5] Columella uses it both for the act of splitting a vine and for the cleft into which scions are set.[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[6] Besides a split made by cleaving, it was a natural cleft: Pliny the Elder uses it of the toes of animals, of a branch of the Nile, and in the plural for chapped lips.[2][6][3]

Medieval writers also used it for an opening or hole, sometimes spelled fixura.[7] British sources have it for a splinter or strip and, in heraldry, for a narrow bend sinister.[8] English fissure (c. 1400) comes from Old French and directly from Latin.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 47 AD – Scribonius Largus uses it.[5]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it for the splitting of vines and for the cleft in grafting.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for natural clefts and chapped lips.[2][6][5]
  • c. 1400 – Borrowed into English as fissure.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The process of cleaving or splitting.[2]
  2. A crack made by splitting, a cleft, fissure.[2][6]
  3. A natural cleft or division;[2][6] (plural) chaps (of the lips).[2][6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) An opening, hole.[7]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A splinter, strip;[8] (heraldry) a narrow bend sinister.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Fissura.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/fissura. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·