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inviolatus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word inviolatus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (violō)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.wi.ɔˈɫaː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iɱ.vi.oˈlaː.tus][1]

Forms

inviolātus (feminine inviolāta, neuter inviolātum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- (“not”) + violātus (“injured, violated”), the participle of violō (“to violate”).[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who speaks of keeping the body of every Roman citizen unharmed and pairs it with unwounded.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It means undamaged or unharmed, as Varro's earth that produced crops of its own accord without being ploughed.[2][5] Of women it means not violated, as Livy's Cloelia sent back untouched; of temples, unprofaned, as Cicero's shrine that even the pirates had left sacred.[2] Of promises and friendships it is unbroken, and of envoys inviolable, as Caesar calls their name sacred and inviolable among all nations.[2] It also means morally unstained, as Cicero of a youth kept pure, and undisturbed, as Alcestis in the Culex free from all care.[2] Silius Italicus uses it of a happy life.[5] Glossaries explain it as uncorrupted and unstained.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of citizens unharmed, unprofaned temples and unbroken friendship.[2][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of inviolable envoys.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro of unploughed earth.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a girl sent back untouched.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Undamaged, unharmed; of persons, unhurt, uninjured.[2][5][1]
  2. Not sexually violated; of temples, unprofaned.[2]
  3. Of promises and friendships, unbroken, unimpaired.[2][5]
  4. Inviolable, sacrosanct.[2][1]
  5. Morally unstained, pure; undisturbed, serene.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Inviolatus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inviolatus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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