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lucrosus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word lucrosus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
43 BC–18 AD, Ovid
Ultimate origin
Latin lucrum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lucrum
Latin lucrosus
From the same root
English lucre ← lucrum
Latin lucellum ← lucrum
Latin lucror ← lucrum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɫʊˈkroː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [luˈkrɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

lucrōsus (feminine lucrōsa, neuter lucrōsum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin lucrum (“gain, profit”) + -ōsus.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Ovid on,[3][4] who uses it in the Amores of a pleasure that brings profit.[5]

Semantic evolution

It always meant bringing gain, lucrative or profitable.[2][5][3] Tacitus and Pliny the Elder use it, Pliny with the comparative lucrosior and the superlative lucrosissimus,[5][3] and the superlative is also found in Ausonius.[3] Cassiodorus has the adverb lucrose, profitably.[5]

Medieval writers kept the classical sense: a letter of Gilbert Foliot of 1148 speaks of a settlement that should not be too profitable for one side and burdensome for the other.[6]

Timeline

  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it in the Amores.[5][3][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder has the comparative and superlative.[5][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it in the Agricola.[5][4]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses the adverb lucrose.[5][4]
  • 1148 – Gilbert Foliot uses it of a settlement in a letter.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Lucrative, profitable, remunerative.[2][5][3]

Usage notes

From Ovid on, the first syllable is scanned long.[3]

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 d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Lucrosus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/lucrosus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·