Etymologically
Log in

fortiter

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 21:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
← Previous version Changes in this edit History

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