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lacrimo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word lacrimo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Ennius
Ultimate origin
Latin (lacrima)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫa.krɪ.moː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlaː.kri.mo][1]

Forms

lacrimō (present infinitive lacrimāre, perfect active lacrimāvī, supine lacrimātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from lacrima “tear” with the verbal suffix -ō.[2][1][3] Lacrima is a dialectal borrowing of Ancient Greek δάκρυμα (dákruma, “tear”), according to Etymonline.[4] The archaic spelling is ⟨lacrumō⟩, and a deponent form also occurs.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Ennius, of weeping.[2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to shed tears, weep, as in Cicero, and Seneca's impersonal lacrimandum est “one must weep”; of statues weeping as a portent, as in Livy, and of eyes, as in Plautus.[2][6] With an accusative it meant to weep for, bewail, as in Terence, and of plants to exude drops, as in Pliny the Elder.[2] Döderlein says lacrimāre is the physical shedding of tears in joy or sorrow, plōrō loud weeping.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to weep, show sorrow.[8] It survives in Italian lacrimare, Spanish lagrimar and Romanian lăcrima.[1] English lachrymose comes in the 1660s from the related adjective lacrimōsus.[4]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of weeping.[2][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of bewailing.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of weeping statues.[2][5]
  • 1660s – English lachrymose is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To weep, shed tears.[2]
  2. To bewail.[2]
  3. (of plants) To exude drops.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Lacrimo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/lacrimo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·