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imbibo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word imbibo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin bibō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin bibo
French boire
Italian bere
Latin imbibo
From the same root
Latin bibulus ← bibo
Latin combibo ← bibo
Latin ebibo ← bibo
Latin perbibo ← bibo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɪm.bɪ.boː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈim.bi.bo][1]

Forms

imbibō (present infinitive imbibere, perfect active imbibī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1] Also spelled inbibō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + bibō (“to drink”).[2][3][1] bibō goes back to Proto-Italic *pibe/o- and to the reduplicated present Proto-Indo-European *pi-ph3-e/o- (“to drink”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest use is figurative: Cicero, in the first speech against Verres, speaks of a man who had conceived a bad opinion in his mind.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The figurative use, “to take into one's mind, conceive” an opinion or attitude, is classical;[6][2] Livy uses it of a resolve formed at the start of a consulship and of the spirit of resistance that filled men's minds.[2][5][7] The literal “drink in, absorb” is post-Augustan and rare: Gratius has it, and Pliny the Elder of smoke inhaled through a funnel.[6][2][8] Gellius uses it of absorbing a false opinion, and Ausonius of taking in a father's arts.[8]

Ecclesiastical writers used it for drinking in or imbibing.[9] The TLL lists Italian imbevere as a descendant.[3] English borrowed it in the late 14th century, from Old French and directly from Latin, as imbibe.[10]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of conceiving an opinion.[2][11]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a resolve formed in the mind.[2][11]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of inhaling smoke.[6][11]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of absorbing a false opinion.[8][11]
  • late 14th century – English borrows it as imbibe.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To drink in, absorb.[2][6]
  2. To take into one's mind, imbibe (opinions, attitudes); to conceive.[2][8]
  3. To resolve, make up one's mind to (a purpose).[2][8][7]

Word family

  • coimbibo
  • English imbibe

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Imbibo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/imbibo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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