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iussum

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word iussum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*Hyowdʰ-eye/o-)

Forms

iussum n (genitive iussī); second declension[1] It is also spelled jussum.[2]

Etymology

It is the neuter of ⟨iussus⟩, the past participle of iubeō (“to order”), used as a noun.[1][3][2] De Vaan traces ⟨iubeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *jouþ-eje/o- and a causative Proto-Indo-European *Hyowdʰ-eye/o- (“to cause to move”), cognate with Sanskrit युध् (yúdh, “fight”) and Lithuanian judė́ti (“to move”); the sense went from “set moving” to “order”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author.[5] In the Pro Roscio Amerino people are said to have acted deōrum … iussīs atque ōrāculīs, at the gods' commands and oracles.[1]

Semantic evolution

It is a command or order, mostly in the plural, the ablative singular being supplied by iussū;[1][2] Lewis and Short also give “law”.[1][2] Virgil's messenger of the gods carries dread commands through the air, and the poets and historians have iussa facere, capessere, exsequī and spernere, to carry out, take up, execute and scorn orders.[2] In Ovid it is what one is told to give, as a doctor's orders.[1] The Vulgate has iussa explēre and complēre.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the gods' commands.[1][5]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust of carrying out orders.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of commands borne by the gods' messenger.[2][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of a doctor's orders.[1][5]
  • 390–406 AD – the Vulgate.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A command, order (mostly plural); a law.[1][3][2]
  2. What one is ordered to provide; a prescription.[1]

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

“Iussum.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/iussum. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·