Etymologically
Log in

inquietus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word inquietus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
65–8 BC, Horace
Ultimate origin
Latin (quiēs)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin inquietus
French inquiet
Latin inquieto
French inquiéter

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪŋ.kʷiˈeː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iŋ.kʷiˈɛː.tus][1]

Forms

inquiētus (feminine inquiēta, neuter inquiētum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the negative prefix in- (“not”) and quiētus (“quiet, at rest”).[2][3] ⟨Quiētus⟩ belongs with quiēs (“rest”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kwiē-ti- and Proto-Indo-European *kwieh1-ti- (“rest, peace”), cognate with Old Church Slavonic почити (počiti, “to rest”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest examples are from Horace, who calls the south wind the turbulent ruler of the restless Adriatic.[2] Köbler's first source is Livy.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means “never still, restless”, and of people finding or taking no rest;[2] Livy has a night followed by a restless day.[2] It is used of places full of unrest, and above all of restless characters: Livy says the Spaniards' minds are restless and eager for change.[2] Lewis and Short note that it is not found in Cicero or Caesar but is frequent in Livy.[5] In Pliny the Younger it is “uneasy, worried”.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “restless, unquiet”.[6]

Timeline

  • 65–8 BC – Horace of the restless Adriatic.[2][3]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of restless days and characters.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Constantly in motion, restless.[2][5][1][6]
  2. Finding no rest, sleepless; allowing no rest.[2]
  3. Full of unrest, turbulent.[2]
  4. Restless in character, unsettled.[2][5]
  5. Worried, uneasy.[2]

Word family

  • inquiētūdō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Derived terms

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Inquietus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inquietus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·