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illaqueo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word illaqueo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
220–130 BC, Pacuvius
Ultimate origin
Latin laqueō#1
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin laqueus
Latin laqueo
Latin illaqueo
From the same root
English lasso ← laqueus
Latin ablaqueo ← laqueo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪlˈla.kʷe.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ilˈlaː.kʷe.o][1]

Forms

illaqueō (present infinitive illaqueāre, perfect active illaqueāvī, supine illaqueātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled inlaqueō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + laqueō1 (“to ensnare”).[2][1] The verb laqueō1 comes from laqueus “noose, snare”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Pacuvius, in a tragic fragment, cur illaquetur hic?, “why is he ensnared?”, in the figurative sense.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is rare and mostly figurative:[3] Cicero speaks of Clodius as entangled in the dangers of all the laws, and Horace writes munera navium saevos illaqueant duces, “gifts ensnare fierce ship captains”.[4][3] The literal sense, to catch in a noose or snare, is found in Ammianus Marcellinus, of a battering ram's iron head caught by nooses, and in Prudentius, of birds taken by traps.[4] Hegesippus uses it of people hanging themselves.[4]

Christian writers used it of souls entangled in errors and heresies or by the devil.[4] Medieval Latin kept both senses: catching animals with traps and nets, binding or tying up, and enticing or winning someone over.[5]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it figuratively.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of Clodius entangled in the laws.[4][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace writes that gifts ensnare ship captains.[4][6]
  • c. 390 – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of catching a ram's head with nooses.[4][6]
  • 348/49–c. 413 – Prudentius uses it of snaring birds.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To catch in a snare or noose, ensnare.[2][3][4]
  2. To entangle, entrap; to seduce or deceive.[2][3][4]
  3. (reflexive) To hang oneself.[4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) To bind or tie up.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Illaqueo.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/illaqueo. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·