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laudatorius

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word laudatorius

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 500 Fulgentius More words from the 5th century
Ultimate origin
Latin laudātor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin laus
Romanian laudă
Latin laudō
French louer
Romanian lăuda
Spanish loar
English laud
Latin laudātor
Latin laudātōrius
From the same root
Latin allaudō ← laudō
Latin laudābilis ← laudō
Latin laudātiō ← laudō
Romanian lăudător ← lăuda

Forms

laudātōrius (feminine laudātōria, neuter laudātōrium); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin laudātor (“one who praises”), with the adjective suffix -ius;[3][2] Köbler refers it to laudō (“to praise”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Late Latin word, first found in Fulgentius' Mythologies,[1][3] where the Muse strokes the writer's hair with a “laudatory” touch of her hand: laudatorio palmulae tactu.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant “having to do with praise”.[3][2] A commentary on Amos attributed to Rufinus speaks of loaves offered as a “laudatory” or freewill offering, and the Latin epitome of Theodore of Mopsuestia on the Psalms of clapping in “laudatory” acclamations.[3] As a neuter noun, a letter attributed to Jerome says that the psalter is called in Latin laudatorium.[3] Georges also cites Eugraphius' commentary on Terence.[2]

Medieval writers used it of letters and sermons of praise, contrasting a laudatory letter with a reproving one,[5][6] and the neuter plural as a noun for praises.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 500 AD – Fulgentius uses it in the preface to his Mythologies.[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to praise; laudatory, eulogistic.[1][3][5]
  2. (neuter as noun) A book of praise, a name for the psalter.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin; neuter plural as noun) Praises.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b 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
  6. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  7. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
Cite this entry

“Laudatorius.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/laudatorius. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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