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innovo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word innovo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (novus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɪn.nɔ.woː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈin.no.vo][1]

Forms

innovō (present infinitive innovāre, perfect active innovāvī, supine innovātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from in- and novō “to make new”, from novus “new”.[2][1][3][4] An inscription has ⟨inō-⟩.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot's earliest citation is Cicero's sē ad suam intemperantiam innovāre “to return anew to one's excess”.[5] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it meant reflexively to return anew to something.[5] In Ulpian and the Digest it meant to make an innovation, alter, and in inscriptions to renew, restore.[2][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to renew, alter.[8] Late Latin innovātiō gave English innovation in the mid-15th century, first “restoration”, and its participle gave English innovate in the 1540s.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it reflexively.[5][6]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of altering.[2][6]
  • mid-15th century – English innovation is recorded.[4]
  • 1540s – English innovate is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To return anew (reflexive).[5]
  2. To make an innovation in, alter.[2]
  3. To renew, restore.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Innovo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/innovo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·