Etymology and origin of the Latin word illic
illic1 that
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Compound
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (ille)
Etymology tree of illic1
Pronunciation
Forms
illic (feminine illaec, neuter illuc or illucce or illoc); demonstrative pronoun[1] Besides illic, illaec, illuc there are the accusatives illunc, illanc, the ablatives illōc, illāc and a plural illisce.[2][1]
Etymology
The pronoun is formed from Latin ille (“that”) + -ce (“here, there”), with the final vowel of the particle lost, like istic and hic.[2][1] Paulus' abridgement of Festus records an archaic ⟨ollic⟩.[3] ille replaced older ⟨olle⟩, ⟨ollus⟩; its ⟨i-⟩ is usually explained by the influence of iste.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Plautus,[5] who has in illisce habitat aedibus, “he lives in that house there”.[2] Ennius asks quis illaec est?, “who is that woman?”.[2]
Semantic evolution
Illic is “that (over there)”, of something the speaker points to, and “that” of something already mentioned or known.[2][1] As a pronoun it is “that man, that thing” (Plautus: illic vocātur Philocratēs, hic Tyndareus, “that one is called Philocrates, this one Tyndareus”) and “that same man”.[2] Paired with hic it is “this … that”, as in Catullus' modo hōc modo illōc, “now in this metre, now in that”.[2] L&S note that it is only ante-classical.[3]
In Medieval Latin it is also used with a dative sense, “to it”.[6]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: in illisce habitat aedibus.[2][5]
- 204–169 BC – Ennius: quis illaec est?.[2][5]
- 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus: modo hōc modo illōc.[2][5]
Meanings
Pronoun
illic2 there
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (ille)
Pronunciation
Forms
illīc (not comparable)[1] The older form illī is found in Terence and Virgil.[3]
Etymology
The adverb is formed from illī (“there”), an old locative of ille (“that”), with the particle -ce.[2][1] It is built like hīc and istīc.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Plautus,[5] who has quid illaec illīc in cōnsiliō duae sēcrētō cōnsultant?, “what are those two women there secretly discussing?”.[2]
Semantic evolution
Illīc is “in that place, over there”, “there” of a place already named, and “in that situation, in such circumstances” (Plautus of love: quot illīc blanditiae, quot illīc īrācundiae sunt!, “how many caresses there are in it, how many quarrels!”).[2][1] L&S note that it is most frequent in early Latin.[3]
Church Latin glosses it “there”.[7]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: quid illaec illīc … cōnsultant?.[2][5]
- 190–159 BC – Terence has the older form illī.[3][5]
Meanings
Adverb
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry
“Illic.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/illic. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
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