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inauditus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word inauditus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂eu-is)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪ.nau̯ˈdiː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [i.nau̯ˈdiː.tus][1]

Forms

inaudītus (feminine inaudīta, neuter inaudītum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“not”) and audītus (“heard”), the participle of audiō (“to hear”);[2][3][1] Lewis and Short and Wiktionary also take it as the participle of inaudiō (“to hear of”).[2][3][1] De Vaan explains ⟨audiō⟩ as probably a compound of Proto-Indo-European *h₂eu-is (“clearly, manifestly”) and the root *dʰeh₁- (“to put, make”), “to make manifest”, through Proto-Italic *awizdje/o-.[4] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἀΐω (aḯō, “to perceive, hear”) and Sanskrit आविस् (āvís, “evidently”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author,[5] who complains in the Pro Quinctio that he must plead first, while the prosecutors' charge is unheard.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is not listened to, unheard, especially of accused persons condemned unheard.[2][3] More often it is unheard of, because of its novelty or excellence, unusual, strange or new, as Cicero's saying of Plato that is “not unheard of” by his hearer;[2][3][1] Lewis and Short call it a favourite word of Cicero.[2][3][1]

Köbler finds it often in medieval texts, in Dhuoda, Thegan and Thietmar.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of an unheard charge and of what is unheard of.[2][5]
  • 837–838 – Thegan.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not listened to, unheard;[2][3] (of the accused) not given a hearing.[2][3]
  2. Unheard-of, unusual, strange, new.[2][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b 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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Inauditus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inauditus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·