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inductus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word inductus

inductus1 alien

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
Ultimate origin
Latin indūcō
Etymology tree of inductus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin induco
Latin inductus
From the same root · inductus1
Latin inductio ← induco

Forms

inductus (feminine inducta, neuter inductum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The adjective “alien” is from Latin indūcō (“to lead in, bring in”): its past participle, used as an adjective.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the letters of Pliny the Younger, of things brought in from abroad, and of matter foreign to the subject of a speech.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Brought in from outside, foreign, adventitious.[1][2][3]
  2. Foreign to the subject, irrelevant.[2][3]

inductus2 inducement

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin indūcō
Etymology tree of inductus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin induco
Latin inductus
From the same root · inductus2
Latin inductio ← induco

Forms

inductus m (genitive inductūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “inducement” is from Latin indūcō (“to lead in, induce”) + -tus, a verbal noun of the fourth declension.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in a speech of Cicero, in a fragment quoted by Quintilian (huius persuasu et inductu, “at this man's persuasion and prompting”), and in the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of what an accused man did at another's prompting.[1][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Younger, in his Panegyricus, uses it of informers “brought on” like robbers in a show.[1] A treatise on Luke's Gospel uses it for a water conduit.[6][3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in a speech, quoted later by Quintilian.[1][4][7]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian quotes Cicero's persuasu et inductu.[1][4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Inducement, prompting, instigation.[1][5][4]
  2. The bringing on of people in a show.[1]
  3. A water conduit.[6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Inductus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inductus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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