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hesternus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word hesternus

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*ǵʰdʰyés)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [hɛsˈtɛr.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [esˈtɛr.nus][1]

Forms

hesternus (feminine hesterna, neuter hesternum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨*hestrinos⟩, from the stem of herī “yesterday”, formed like hodiernus.[2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨herī⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰdʰyés (“yesterday”) and an adjective ⟨*ǵʰdʰi-es-tro-⟩ “of yesterday”, cognate with Ancient Greek χθές (khthés, “yesterday”), Sanskrit ह्यस् (hyás, “yesterday”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (gistradagis, “tomorrow”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Plautus.[6] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant of yesterday, yesterday's, as in Cicero's hesternus diēs “yesterday” and hesterna disputātiō “yesterday's discussion”.[2][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin diēs hesterna means yesterday.[8] British Medieval Latin used it also for the preceding day.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero has hesternus diēs.[7][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of yesterday, yesterday's.[2][3]
  2. Of the preceding day.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b 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
Cite this entry

“Hesternus.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/hesternus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·