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insumo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word insumo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₁em-e/o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sumo
Latin insumo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ĩːˈsuː.moː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈsuː.mo][1]

Forms

īnsūmō (present infinitive īnsūmere, perfect active īnsūmpsī, supine īnsūmptum); third conjugation[1] Marius Victorinus prescribes the perfect spelling īnsūmsit.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + sūmō (“to take”).[3][2] sūmō is formed from sub- and emō (“to take, buy”),[1] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *eme/o- (“to take”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-e/o- (“to take”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense in the OLD is illustrated from Cicero, of no effort spent, nulla opera insumpta.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means to expend or employ money, time or effort on something:[3] Cicero writes that not a farthing is spent on anyone, and Gellius of thirty sesterces spent on a dinner.[5] Celsus uses it of taking in moisture, when more is excreted than is taken in.[3] Statius has clouds taking up a position on a mountain's side, in a line that may be interpolated, and also assuming a frame of mind, strength equal to grief.[3] In Church Latin it is to consume.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of effort and money spent.[3][5][7]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus, of taking in moisture.[3][7]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius, of assuming strength.[3][7]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius, of money spent on a dinner.[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To spend, expend, employ money, time or effort;[3][5][1] to apply, bestow.[5][1]
  2. To take in, consume;[3][6] to take up a position.[3]
  3. To assume a frame of mind.[3]

Word family

  • insumptio

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 e 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
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Insumo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/insumo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·