Etymology and origin of the Latin word identicus
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 1300
- Ultimate origin
- Latin identitās
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
From the same root
Forms
identicus (feminine identica, neuter identicum, adverb identicē); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin identitās (“sameness”) with the suffix -icus, a Medieval Latin formation;[2][1] that noun is from īdem (“the same”).[1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it to about 1300 from Latham's word list,[3] and the DMLBS quotes it from Duns Scotus, as a term of logic and philosophy.[2]
Semantic evolution
It stayed a term of the schools: “identical”, the same in quality or attributes.[2][1] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it, with the adverb identicē, simply for “identical”.[4][1]
Timeline
- c. 1300 – First recorded in British medieval Latin.[3]
Meanings
Adjective
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d 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
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry
“Identicus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/identicus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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