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fortiter

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word fortiter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (fortis)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fortis
French fort
Latin fortitudo
Latin fortiter

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfɔr.tɪ.tɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfɔr.ti.ter][1]

Forms

fortiter (comparative fortius, superlative fortissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin fortis (“strong, brave”) + -ter.[2][1] De Vaan traces fortis, old ⟨forctus⟩, ⟨horctus⟩ “good”, to Proto-Italic *forkti/o-; its further origin is unclear: perhaps ⟨*bʰorg-to-⟩ “stuffed”, beside farciō (“to stuff”), or ⟨*dʰ(o)rǵʰ-to-⟩ “strong”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler first records it in Plautus,[4] who has quī malum fert fortiter, “who bears misfortune bravely”, pugnāvī fortiter, “I fought bravely”, and hunc … astringite ad columnam fortiter, “tie him tight to the column”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Fortiter is “with physical strength, vigorously, powerfully” (Tibullus of turning the soil), of tying “firmly”, of fire “violently”, and of sound “loudly”.[2][1] It is “energetically, strenuously” (Cicero: he persists most stubbornly in doing wrong) and of speaking “stoutly, forcefully”; in law it is “with good reason”.[2] Its main moral sense is “bravely, boldly, resolutely”.[2][1]

Medieval Latin uses it for “strongly, heavily”.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: quī malum fert fortiter.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: iniūriam facere fortissimē persevērat.[2][4]
  • c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus of vigorous digging.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. strongly, powerfully, vigorously; firmly.[2][1][5]
  2. Energetically; forcefully.[2]
  3. bravely, boldly, resolutely.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Fortiter.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/fortiter. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·