Etymologically
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locus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word locus

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Confidence
Unknown
First attested
Livius Andronicus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin locus
Latin localis
English local

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫɔ.kʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlɔː.kus][1]

Forms

locus m (genitive locī); second declension[1] The old form was stlocus, reported by Quintilian and Festus.[2][3][4] The plural is locī for single places and loca for places connected together, a region.[4][5]

Etymology

The origin is unclear.[2] Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny derived the old form stlocus from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place”), but de Vaan rejects this, since there is no such suffix, and considers a form *slok-o-.[2] The Oxford Latin Dictionary calls it doubtful.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Livius Andronicus uses it.[2] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a place or locality, a part of the body, a spot or point, a position or situation, and one's proper place.[3] It was also an occasion, opportunity or grounds, and a passage in a book.[1] Döderlein compares Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos) and contrasts it with tractus, a stretch of country.[7]

In medieval Latin it was a manor, a catacomb niche or grave, and a church built over a saint's tomb.[8] British writers used it of places of the mind and in the art of memory.[9] Proto-Romance */ˈlɔk-u/ “place” is continued in all branches of Romance.[10] It survives as Italian luogo, Romanian loc and Old French leu.[1] English borrowed locus in 1715.[11]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a spot where something fell.[3][6]
  • late 14th century – English local is recorded, from Late Latin locālis.[11]
  • 1715 – English locus is recorded.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A place, locality, neighbourhood.[3][4]
  2. A part of the body.[3]
  3. A spot, point.[3]
  4. A position, situation; one's proper place.[3]
  5. An occasion, opportunity, grounds.[1]
  6. A passage in a book.[1]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A manor; a grave; a church at a saint's tomb.[8]

Word family

  • locālis
  • locārius
  • locellus
  • locō
  • loculus
  • locuplēs
  • īlicō
  • locārium

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“Locus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/locus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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