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incaute

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word incaute

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (caveō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin incautus
Latin incaute

Forms

incautē (comparative incautius, superlative incautissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin incautus (“incautious”) + -ē.[2][1] incautus is formed from in- (“not”) and cautus (“careful”), the participle of caveō (“to beware”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[3] who in a letter to Atticus says everything so far has been done foolishly and incautiously.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It means without taking precautions, unwarily: Livy joins it with fighting rashly,[4] and Caesar has the comparative, of guards placed on the wall a little too carelessly.[4][5] Pliny the Younger uses it of eating at ease, without having to watch oneself: you can dine more grandly elsewhere, but nowhere more cheerfully, simply and freely.[2][4] Augustine has the superlative incautissimē.[4][6] In Church and Medieval Latin it also means unawares, unexpectedly.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of acting incautiously.[4][3]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of careless guards.[4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of fighting rashly.[4]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine has the superlative.[4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Incautiously, unwarily, carelessly, rashly.[2][4][1]
  2. Without having to watch one's behaviour, at ease.[2][4][5]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Unawares, unexpectedly.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Incaute.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/incaute. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·