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imaginor

Etymology and origin of the Latin word imaginor

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Seneca
Ultimate origin
Latin (imāgō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɪˈmaː.ɡɪ.nɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [iˈmaː.d͡ʒi.nor][1]

Forms

imāginor (present infinitive imāginārī, perfect active imāginātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from imāgō “image, likeness” with a verb suffix, also found as active ⟨imāginō⟩.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Seneca, of forming a mental picture.[2] Köbler dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.[4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[3] It meant to picture to oneself, fancy, imagine, as Quintilian's remark that Cicero only imagines and invents the perfect orator, and it is used by Pliny the Elder, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger.[2][3][5] Apuleius uses it of a mirror giving an image.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to imagine, picture to oneself.[6] Old French imaginer gave English imagine in the mid-14th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of imagining.[2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of Cicero's ideal orator.[3][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of a mirror.[2][4]
  • mid-14th century – English imagine is recorded, through Old French.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To picture to oneself, imagine, fancy.[2][3]
  2. Of a mirror, to give an image.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Imaginor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/imaginor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·