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Etymology and origin of the Latin word illo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 235–200 BC, Naevius
Ultimate origin
Latin (ille)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɪl.loː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈil.lo][1]

Forms

illō (not comparable)[1] It also appears as illōc.[2]

Etymology

It is the ablative masculine singular of ille (“that”) used as an adverb of direction;[3] the TLL connects it with illic1, comparing illūc (“thither”) and the pair ⟨hōc⟩, hūc (“hither”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Naevius has “I'll take you there where you won't spit”;[3] Köbler also gives Naevius.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is to that place, thither, and with hōc “here and there, this way and that”.[3][1] Figuratively it is to that point or stage, as the elder Seneca's speaker who then passes to that point in the argument.[3] Illō locī is “in that situation”.[3]

Köbler finds it in the Bible, the Alemannic laws, Hrotsvitha and Otto of Freising.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of taking someone there.[3][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate.[4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. To that place, thither;[3][1] hōc … illō, here and there.[3]
  2. To that point (in an argument).[3]
  3. illō locī, in that situation.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Illo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/illo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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