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insector

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word insector

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*sekʷ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin seco
Latin sector
English sector
Latin insector
Latin consector
Latin sectator
Latin exseco
Latin sectio
English section
Latin reseco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈsɛk.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈsɛk.tor][1]

Forms

īnsector (present infinitive īnsectārī, perfect active īnsectātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] Plautus also has active forms, īnsectō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + sector (“to follow, chase”),[2][1] the frequentative belonging to īnsequor (“to pursue”).[3][4] De Vaan explains sector as formed from the old participle ⟨*sekto-⟩ of sequor (“to follow”), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”).[5] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἕπομαι (hépomai, “to follow”) and Lithuanian sèkti (“to follow”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first example in the OLD is Plautus' Captivi, of a madman who chased his mother and father at home with spears.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to pursue with hostile intent or chase, as Cicero's Furies that hound the impious.[2][4] Figuratively it is to harry someone with hostile speech or policy, to attack, rail at or speak ill of, as the Rhetorica ad Herennium on envy that pursues good men.[2][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of chasing a person.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the Furies pursuing the impious.[4][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pursue, chase.[2][4][1]
  2. To harry; to attack with words, rail at, slander.[2][1]

Word family

  • īnsectātiō
  • īnsectātor

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 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Insector.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/insector. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·