Etymologically
Log in

illoc

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word illoc

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
280/260–before 200 BC, Livius Andronicus
Ultimate origin
Latin ille
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ille
French elle
French le
French leur
Italian gli
Italian il
Italian la
Italian le
Latin illic
Italian lì
Latin illoc
From the same root
French lequel ← le

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪlˈloːk][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ilˈlɔk][1]

Forms

illōc (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is perhaps from Latin illic1 (“that”), an old instrumental case form of the pronoun.[2] Wiktionary likewise takes it as an instrumental of ille (“that”) with the particle -ce, and compares hōc beside hūc.[1] De Vaan lists it among the adverbs made from ille.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus.[3] Plautus has post illōc quam vēnī, “after I came there”.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It is the old form of illūc, “thither”,[6][1] found in Plautus and Terence;[4][5][7] at one place in Terence the manuscripts now read illō instead.[4] Petronius has et hōc et illōc, “this way and that”, of the sign of the Crab.[7][2] In a speech of the emperor Claudius preserved in an inscription, illōc potius revertar means “I would rather go back to that point”, of a topic already mentioned.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[3][8]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Truculentus.[4][5][8]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in the Eunuch.[4][5][8]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius has hōc et illōc, “this way and that”.[7][8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. To that place, thither, there.[2][4][6]
  2. hōc et illōc: this way and that.[2][7]
  3. (transferred) To that subject, back to the point mentioned.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
  7. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Illoc.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/illoc. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·