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limpor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word limpor

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
c. 180–102 BC Lucilius More words from the 2nd century BC
Derivations

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈlɪm.pɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈlim.por][1]

Forms

limpor m (genitive limpōris); third declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[1] The OLD connects it with limpidus (“clear”), comparing liquor2 (“liquid”) beside liquidus;[2] Wiktionary likewise takes it as formed on the pattern of ⟨languor⟩ beside ⟨languidus⟩.[1] Wackernagel instead thought it a blend of lympha (“clear water”) and ⟨liquor⟩, which would fit if ⟨lymphor⟩ is the older form.[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only record is a fragment of Lucilius, quoted by Nonius, which speaks of a limpor that is “unmixed”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word is known from this single passage, and its meaning “clear liquid” is inferred from it; the TLL takes it as the same as liquor2.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it.[3][4]
  • end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD – Nonius Marcellus quotes the passage.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (apparently) A clear liquid.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Limpor.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/limpor. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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