Etymologically

innutrio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 20:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪnˈnuː.tri.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈnuː.tri.o][1]

Forms

innūtriō (present infinitive innūtrīre, perfect active innūtrīvī, supine innūtrītum); fourth conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + nūtriō (“to nourish”).[2][3][1] De Vaan explains nūtriō as derived from Proto-Italic *noutrī (“nurse”) before that noun took the suffix seen in nūtrīx (“nurse”); it goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sneu-tr-ih₂- (“female nurser”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Velleius Paterculus writes of someone brought up in heavenly teachings.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It means to bring up or rear in particular surroundings, and is mostly found in the passive with the ablative.[2][7] Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[6] Seneca writes of being born and raised in arms and of the need to dwell on certain minds and be nourished by them;[7][6] Silius Italicus has a youth not to be reared in camps and arms,[6][7] Pliny the Younger men brought up on the sea, and Suetonius a man raised in ample wealth.[6][5] Tacitus uses it of someone reared among the worst examples.[5][7]

Arnobius uses it in an image, and the TLL notes that it often comes close to meaning simply to educate.[3] The Codex Theodosianus has natives brought up within the borders of their province.[6] Ecclesiastical Latin used it for to nourish.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus uses it of an upbringing.[5][9]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of being raised in arms.[7][9]
  • 25–101 AD – Silius Italicus uses it of being reared in camps.[6][9]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of a man raised in wealth.[6][9]
  • 438 AD – The Codex Theodosianus uses it of natives of a province.[6][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (with ablative) To rear, bring up (in particular surroundings); (passive) to grow up in.[2][6]
  2. To nourish (in or on something).[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de