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investigator

Etymology and origin of the Latin word investigator

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (vestīgium)

Forms

investīgātor m (genitive investīgātōris, feminine investīgātrīx); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from investīgō “to track, search out” with the agent suffix -tor; ⟨investīgō⟩ is from in- and vestīgō “to track”, related to vestīgium “footprint”.[2][1][3] De Vaan finds the origin of ⟨vestīgium⟩ uncertain.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero, whom he dates 81–43 BC, and Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite him.[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It was one who searches or inquires into something, an investigator, as in Cicero's ācer et dīligēns rērum investīgātor.[2][5][6] Köbler records investīgātor canis, a tracking dog.[3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it was an examiner, investigator.[7] Medieval Latin used it for a sleuth-hound, and British Medieval Latin for a tracker, follower.[8][9] It survives in Italian investigatore and Spanish investigador.[1]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[5][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An investigator, inquirer.[2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A sleuth-hound; a tracker.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Investigator.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/investigator. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·