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
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
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ 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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