Etymologically
Log in

inclutus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 19:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɪŋ.kɫʊ.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈiŋ.klu.tus][1]

Forms

inclutus (feminine incluta, neuter inclutum); first/second-declension adjective[1] Also inclitus and inclytus, and Lewis & Short reject inclytus.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from in- and ⟨clutus⟩ “famous”, the participle of clueō “to be spoken of”.[2][4][5] De Vaan traces ⟨clueō⟩ to Proto-Italic *klu-ē- (“to be known”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlu-tó- (“heard, famous”); cognate with Ancient Greek κλυτός (klutós, “famous”) and Sanskrit श्रुत (śrutá-, “heard, famous”).[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Naevius, whom he dates c. 235–200 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant famous, renowned, celebrated, as in Plautus, Lucretius, Virgil and Livy, and Cicero remarks on the accent of its first syllable.[2][3][7]

British Medieval Latin spelled it inclitus.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[7][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[7][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Famous, renowned, celebrated.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press