Etymologically
Log in

maritimus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word maritimus

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*móri)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [maˈrɪ.tɪ.mʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [maˈriː.ti.mus][1]

Forms

maritimus (feminine maritima, neuter maritimum); first/second-declension adjective[1] The older spelling is maritumus.[2]

Etymology

It is from mare “sea” with the suffix -timus, perhaps modelled on fīnitimus “neighbouring” and ⟨extimus⟩.[3][2][1][4] De Vaan traces ⟨mare⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *mor-i- (“sea, lake”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of the sea: flūctūs mōvī maritumōs “I stirred the sea's waves”.[2][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant of the sea, marine, and seafaring or nautical, as in Plautus.[2] In Cicero it meant near the sea, coastal, and ōra maritima was the sea coast.[2]

British Medieval Latin used it of things on the sea, of seafaring people, of sea creatures, and of maritime courts and law.[7] It survives in Italian marittimo and Spanish marítimo, and through French maritime it gave English maritime in the 1540s.[1][8] Italian maremma also descends from it.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the sea.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the coast.[2][6]
  • 1540s – English maritime is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the sea, marine.[2]
  2. Near the sea, coastal, ōra maritima, the sea coast.[2]
  3. Seafaring, naval, maritime.[2]

Word family

  • maritima
  • mare
  • marīnus
  • English maritime

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Maritimus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/maritimus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·