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inundatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word inundatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
4 BC–65 AD, Seneca
Ultimate origin
Latin unda
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin unda
Latin undo
Latin inundo
Latin inundatio
From the same root
Latin exundo ← undo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪ.nʊnˈdaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [i.nunˈdat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

inundātiō f (genitive inundātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin inundō (“to overflow, flood”) + -tiō (“action noun suffix”),[2][1] and the verb is formed from in- and unda (“wave”).[3] De Vaan traces that noun to Proto-Italic *udōr, from Proto-Indo-European *ud-ōr (“water”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the first century AD:[5] Seneca speaks of a sudden flood of the sea that will cover fertile plains, and Columella of valleys built up by the flooding of rivers.[2]

Semantic evolution

L&S call it post-Augustan.[5] It was used for the overflowing of a river or the sea, notably of the Nile and the Tiber, and for the flooding of land;[2][5] Pliny the Elder applies it to the great flood of the earth.[2][5] Florus already used it figuratively, of a flood of blood.[2]

Late writers extended it to crowds of people, and the Vulgate to a multitude of horses and to troubles that overwhelm a person.[5][6] British medieval sources use it for floods of the sea and of rivers, and also for an invading army.[7] English borrowed it in the early 15th century as inundation.[3]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca writes of a sudden flood of the sea.[2][8]
  • 1st century AD – Columella speaks of the flooding of rivers.[2][8]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus records a sudden flood of the Tiber.[2][8]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of a multitude of horses in Ezekiel.[5][8]
  • early 15th century – English borrows it as inundation.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The overflowing of a river or the sea; a flood, inundation.[2][5]
  2. The flooding of land.[2]
  3. (figurative) A great quantity or crowd, an overwhelming flood.[5][6][7]

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Inundatio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inundatio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·