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latio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word latio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin ferō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

lātiō f (genitive lātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed with -tiō on ⟨lāt-⟩, the stem of ⟨lātum⟩, the supine of ferō (“to carry, bring”).[2][3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Cicero,[5] who in the Pro Murena asks why the proposal of a law should stand in the way of his defence.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that it is used only in transferred senses of “bringing”.[3] Its main use is in public life: the proposal of a law, which the TLL finds often in translations from Greek,[2][4] and, in Livy, the right to vote (suffrāgiī lātiō), as in a citizenship without the vote, and the rendering of help (auxiliī lātiō).[2][3] Gellius uses it of the entering of a payment in accounts.[2]

Medieval writers used it of the giving or establishing of a law, as in the old and new covenants, and the theologians of the carrying or moving of a body.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the proposal of a law.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of voting and of rendering help.[2][3][5]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of entering a payment in accounts.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The formal proposal of a law.[2][3][6]
  2. (suffrāgiī lātiō) The right of voting, franchise;[2][3] (auxiliī lātiō) the rendering of help.[2][3]
  3. The entering of a payment in accounts.[2][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A carrying, lifting.[6]

Word family

  • acceptilātiō
  • lēgislātiō

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 l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Latio.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/latio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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