Etymologically
Log in

irroro

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word irroro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
70–19 BC, Virgil
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *h₁rōs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ros
Latin roro
Latin irroro
From the same root
Latin roscidus ← ros

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪrˈroː.roː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [irˈrɔː.ro][1]

Forms

irrōrō (present infinitive irrōrāre, perfect active irrōrāvī, supine irrōrātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled inrōrō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + rōrō (“to drip, shed dew”).[2][3][4] De Vaan lists the simple verb as a derivative of rōs (“dew”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *rōs and Proto-Indo-European *h₁rōs (“dew, juice”).[5]

The noun is cognate with Sanskrit रस (rása-, “juice, liquid”) and Lithuanian rasà (“dew”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Virgil, Ovid, Celsus and Columella on.[3] In the Georgics Virgil speaks of the morning star bedewing the earth with the new sun.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It means to wet with dew: Columella says a vessel must be covered at night so that the dew does not fall on it.[4][3] More generally it is to moisten or sprinkle: in Ovid hair is sprinkled three times with river water, and liquid is poured on clothes and head.[2][4] Intransitively it means to fall like dew or rain, as when Virgil says that Aquarius brings rain at the end of the year.[2][6] Persius uses it of sprinkling pepper on a dish, and Silius of sleep shed on the eyes.[4]

The TLL notes that it is more frequent in Church writers,[3] who use it figuratively: in Rufinus' translation of Origen the people are bedewed by the writings of the prophets, and Augustine speaks of being sprinkled with God's love.[3] English took it over as irrorate and Italian as irrorare.[1]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of the morning star bedewing the earth.[2][7]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of sprinkling hair with water.[2][7]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of dew falling on vessels and flowers.[4][7]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius uses it of sprinkling pepper.[4][7]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it figuratively of God's love.[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To moisten with dew, bedew.[2][4]
  2. To moisten, sprinkle, wet.[2][4]
  3. To pour or sprinkle (a liquid) on something.[2][6]
  4. (intransitive) To fall like dew, to rain.[2][6]
  5. Of things not fluid: to sprinkle, shed (on).[4]

Word family

  • irrōrātiō
  • English irrorate
  • Italian irrorare

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 k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Irroro.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/irroro. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·