Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Latin word impie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*puH-io-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pius
Latin pie
Latin impius
Latin impietas
Latin impie
Latin pietas
French pitié
Latin pio
Latin expio
Latin piaculum

Forms

impiē (adverb)[1] It is also spelled inpiē.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin impius (“undutiful, irreverent”) + -ē.[1][2][3] impius is the negative of pius (“dutiful”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *puH-io- (“purifying”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means in a way that shows impietās, without regard for duty to the gods, the state or one's family: impiously, wickedly.[1][2] Köbler finds it used on into Medieval Latin, in Alcuin, Hrabanus Maurus and charters.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero.[3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Impiously, undutifully, wickedly.[1][2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
Cite this entry

“Impie.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/impie. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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