Etymologically
Log in

iuratus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word iuratus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂oi-u)

Forms

iūrātus (feminine iūrāta, neuter iūrātum, superlative iūrātissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1] It is also spelled jūrātus.[2]

Etymology

It is the participle of iūrō (“to swear”), used in a middle sense, “having sworn”.[1][3] De Vaan explains ⟨iūrō⟩ as a verb made from iūs (“law, oath”), Proto-Italic *jowes-ā-je- (“to swear”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has “being under oath, I see I must tell you whatever you ask” in the Asinaria;[1] Köbler also gives Plautus.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is under oath to be truthful or impartial, and having pledged oneself to a course, as Plautus' cook who could not have found a worse one if he had sworn to look for him.[1] It is sworn to loyalty, as Statius' Theseus bound by oath to his friend, and in Cornelius Severus joined in a conspiracy, of Catiline's sworn bands.[1]

Church Latin glosses it “bound by an oath”.[5] In Medieval Latin, as a noun, it is one who has sworn fealty, a member of a sworn commune, and a jurat, a member of a town's magistracy.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a man under oath.[1][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero.[3]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius of Theseus sworn to his friend.[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Under oath, sworn; pledged (to a course).[1][5]
  2. Sworn to loyalty.[1]
  3. Joined in a conspiracy.[1]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) One who has sworn fealty; a member of a sworn commune; a jurat, town magistrate.[6]

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d e 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Iuratus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/iuratus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·