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iniuratus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word iniuratus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (iūrō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iuratus
Latin iniuratus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.juːˈraː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [in.juˈraː.tus][1]

Forms

iniūrātus (feminine iniūrāta, neuter iniūrātum); first/second-declension adjective[1] Also spelled injūrātus.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + iūrātus (“sworn”),[3][1][4] the participle of iūrō (“to swear”).[1] De Vaan explains that verb as made from iūs2 (“oath, law”), Proto-Italic *jowos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ieu-os (“vital force”).[5] Charisius lists it among the passive participles with an active sense.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first,[6] in the Amphitruo, where Mercury tells Sosia that Jupiter will believe him unsworn rather than Sosia sworn;[4][3][2] Cicero quotes the line.[4][3][2]

Semantic evolution

It is “not having taken an oath”, usually against iūrātus: Cicero says he alleges unsworn what sworn witnesses state, and Livy has sworn and unsworn fleeing alike.[2][7] A verse Cicero quotes says “I swore with my tongue; my mind I keep unsworn”.[7][2] Quintilian uses the plural iniūrātī as a noun for unsworn witnesses.[7][6] Church Latin has “unsworn”.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of an unsworn speaker.[4][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of unsworn testimony.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of sworn and unsworn soldiers.[2][6]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian, of unsworn witnesses.[7][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not having taken an oath, unsworn.[3][2][1]
  2. (plural as noun) Unsworn witnesses.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Iniuratus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/iniuratus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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