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incolo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word incolo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kʷelh₁-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɪŋ.kɔ.ɫoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈiŋ.ko.lo][1]

Forms

incolō (present infinitive incolere, perfect active incoluī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1] Tertullian has a first-conjugation form incolāre.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“in”) and colō (“to till; to dwell”).[3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨colō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kʷele/o- and Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-e/o- (“to go round”), cognate with Sanskrit चरति (cárati, “moves, walks”) and Ancient Greek πέλομαι (pélomai, “to move, be”); the /e/ became /o/ after the initial /kʷ/.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has Neptune “who dwells in salt and fishy places” in the Rudens.[3]

Semantic evolution

Used transitively it is to inhabit or live in a place, as Cicero's people who lived on Delos, and used intransitively to dwell or reside.[3][2][1] Döderlein notes that incolere is transitive and refers to the country of which one is a citizen or inhabitant, while habitāre is intransitive and refers to one's house.[5]

In Late Latin it is also to cultivate, as Tertullian's “to till and keep paradise”.[2][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of Neptune's dwelling.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the inhabitants of Delos.[3][6]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian of tilling paradise.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To inhabit, live in.[3][2][1]
  2. (intransitive) To dwell, reside.[3][1]
  3. (Late Latin) To cultivate.[2][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Incolo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/incolo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·