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ingressus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word ingressus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (gradior)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin gradior
Latin congredior
Latin congressus
English congress
English congressman
Latin congressio
Latin progredior
Latin progressus
English progress
Latin regredior
Latin gressus
Latin ingredior
Latin ingressus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪŋˈɡrɛs.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iŋˈɡrɛs.sus][1]

Forms

ingressus m (genitive ingressūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ingredior (“to step in, enter”) + -tus, a fourth-declension noun of action.[2][3][4] ingredior is a compound of in- and gradior (“to step, go”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[5] who asks his hearers to remember how quick someone's return was and how he entered the forum.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of going in, an entry,[2][6] and also a way in: Sallust has a hill with a narrow, sandy approach.[2] Velleius has Antony's entry into the camp,[6] and later writers use it of a hostile inroad.[6] Virgil uses it of a beginning, asking where men's new skill took its start, and Quintilian of the opening of a speech.[2] It is also walking and steps: Cicero asks what use feet are without walking, Pliny the Elder uses it of the gait of a queen bee, Silius of a hostile advance and Livy of treading on unsteady ground.[2] The TLL notes that the genitive is not found before Hilary.[3] In Church Latin it is an entrance or procession,[7] and in medieval texts also the taking possession of property or rights.[8] English ingress (mid-15th century) came from it.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of entering the forum and of walking.[2][5]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust, of an approach.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of a beginning.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian, of the opening of a speech.[2][5]
  • mid-15th century – Borrowed into English as ingress.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A going in, entry, entrance;[2][6][1] a hostile inroad.[6][1]
  2. A way in, an approach.[2]
  3. A beginning; the opening of a speech.[2]
  4. Walking, a step; gait;[2] a hostile advance.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Entry into possession of property or rights.[8]

Usage notes

Ingressus, -a, -um is also the participle of ingredior, “having entered, having begun”.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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

“Ingressus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/ingressus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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