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latens

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word latens

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
96–55 BC, Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin (lateō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lateo
Latin latibulum
Latin latito
Latin latens

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɫa.tẽːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈlaː.tens][1]

Forms

latēns (genitive latentis, comparative latentior, superlative latentissimus); third-declension one-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin lateō (“to lie hidden”).[2][3][4][5] The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *latē-, a stative verb made from Proto-Indo-European *lh₂-to- (“hidden”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Lucretius, who writes that the body that can be seen is sick while we take pleasure in another, hidden part.[2]

Semantic evolution

It keeps the senses of the verb, above all "concealed, hidden":[2] Virgil has hidden rocks, Horace hidden shores, and Lucan calls the underworld the hidden world.[2] Pliny the Elder uses it of the left hand, which is kept out of sight, as the hand that wears rings.[2] From Cicero on it also means "not revealed, secret": a dark and hidden matter can be lit up by a single word, and Ovid speaks of words hidden in speech.[2] Scribonius Largus sets a hidden and obscure cause against a manifest one, and Quintilian speaks of a hidden reason that cannot be put into words.[2][5] The jurists have in latentī, "in secret".[2][5] Augustine forms the comparative latentior.[5] English borrowed the word in the mid-15th century as latent.[7]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of a hidden part of the body.[2]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a hidden matter made clear.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of hidden rocks.[2][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of hidden words.[2]
  • c. 47 AD – Scribonius Largus of a hidden cause.[2][4]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the comparative latentior.[5][4]
  • mid-15th century – Borrowed into English as latent, "concealed, secret".[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Concealed, hidden, out of sight.[2][3][5][1]
  2. Not revealed, secret, obscure;[2][5] in latentī, in secret.[2][5]

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 l m n o p 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Latens.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/latens. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·