Etymology and origin of the Latin word maritalis
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 43 BC–18 AD, Ovid
- Ultimate origin
- Latin marītus
From the same root
Forms
marītālis (neuter marītāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin marītus + -ālis,[2][3] from marītus (“husband”).[2] De Vaan traces marītus to Proto-Italic *mareito- (“having a young woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *mor-(e)i- (“young woman”).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in Ovid,[5] who in the Ars amatoria uses it of the dress of a married woman.[2][3]
Semantic evolution
It is poetic and post-Augustan.[3] It meant “of marriage, conjugal”: Valerius Maximus speaks of the marriage torch and of a husband's stern brow, Columella of the marriage bond,[2][3] and Juvenal of a man who “already offers his foolish mouth to the marriage halter” (stulta maritali iam porrigit ora capistro).[2] In Ovid it means “of a married woman”, and in Apuleius “of one's husband”.[2]
Medieval Latin kept it for “matrimonial”.[6] English marital comes from it about 1600, partly through French.[7]
Timeline
- 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a married woman's dress.[2][5]
- 1st century AD – Columella speaks of the marriage bond.[2][5]
- c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal speaks of the marriage halter.[2][5]
- c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of a husband's instructions.[2][5]
- c. 1600 – English marital appears.[7]
Meanings
Adjective
- Of marriage, marital, conjugal, nuptial.[2][3]
- Of a married woman, matronly.[2]
- Of or belonging to one's husband.[2]
Related words
- English marital
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry
“Maritalis.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/maritalis. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·