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leno

Etymology and origin of the Latin word leno

History Permalink
Confidence
Unknown
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫeː.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlɛː.no][1]

Forms

lēnō m (genitive lēnōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.[2][1] Walde and Hofmann and Leumann took the feminine lēna “bawd” as older, but de Vaan sees no sign of this in the texts.[3] He suggests the different suffixes may continue an n-stem *lēn- “one who lets”, from *leh₁-ōn, perhaps the same stem as in lēnis “gentle”.[3] Lewis and Short derived it from lēniō “to soothe”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose perjured pimp is a stock figure.[3][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a brothel-keeper, procurer, pimp, a dealer in slave girls and a stock character of Roman comedy, as Plautus' periūrus lēnō and the pimp who sold a girl to a Macedonian soldier for twenty minae.[2][4][6] Figuratively it was a go-between.[6]

In Medieval Latin it meant a bawd, glossed as one who procures girls for a brothel.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus' comedies feature the pimp.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A brothel-keeper, pimp, procurer.[2]
  2. A go-between.[6]

Word family

  • lēnōcinium
  • lēnōcinor
  • lēnōnius
  • lēnullus
  • lēnunculus
  • lēna
  • lēnōcināmentum
  • lēnōnicē

Usage notes

The late verb lēnāre “to pimp, to prostitute” is derived from it.[4][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ 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

“Leno.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/leno. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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