Etymologically
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lucrum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word lucrum

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫʊ.krũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈluː.krum][1]

Forms

lucrum n (genitive lucrī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It goes back to Proto-Italic *luklo-, which became Proto-Italic *lukro- by dissimilation, from Proto-Indo-European *lh₂u-tló- (“seizure, gain”), with the instrumental suffix *-tlom.[2][1] De Vaan considers two possible connections for the root *leh₂u-: Hittite words for pouring, which fit badly in meaning, or a root *leh₂- “to fight”, so that the original sense would be “to acquire by fighting”.[2] Varro derived it from luere “to pay”.[3]

Cognate with Ancient Greek ἀπολαύω (apolaúō, “to enjoy”), Ancient Greek λεία (leía, “booty”) and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌽 (laun, “reward”).[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards,[2][5] who has a character say rem gero et facio lucrum “I do business and make a profit”.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant material gain or profit, the opposite of damnum “loss”, and also non-material advantage, as in Cicero's “what a gain it is to die”.[6][7] Accounting gave the phrases in lucro ponere “to count as profit”, de lucro vivere “to be lucky to be alive”, and lucri facere “to gain, make a profit”.[6] It also meant the pursuit of gain, greed.[6][8]

In medieval Latin it meant crops and produce, casual revenue, money, and interest or usury.[9] It survives as Spanish and Portuguese logro and Romanian lucru,[1] and through French it gave English lucre.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses facere lucrum and lucri facere.[6][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence counts whatever happens beyond hope as gain.[6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of men drawn by gain.[6][5]
  • Middle Ages – It means produce, money, and interest.[9]
  • late 14th century – English borrows it through French as English lucre.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Material gain, profit; an advantage.[6][7]
  2. lucri facere: to gain, make a profit.[6]
  3. Love of gain, avarice.[6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Produce, crop; money; interest, usury.[9]

Word family

  • lucellum
  • lucrifaciō
  • lucricupido
  • lucrifer
  • lucrifuga
  • lucripeta
  • lucrius
  • lucrōsus
  • turpilucrus
  • lucrificō
  • lucriō
  • lucror
  • lucrātiō
  • lucrātīvus
  • lucrātor
  • lucrificābilis
  • lucrōsē
  • English lucre
  • English lucrative

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Lucrum.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/lucrum. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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