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mecum

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word mecum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
Ultimate origin
Latin ego,cum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin cum
Italian con
English cum
Latin mecum
From the same root
Latin cumque ← cum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmeː.kũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmɛː.kum][1]

Forms

mēcum (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mē (“me”) + cum1 (“with”): the ablative of ego (“I”) with the preposition placed after it.[1][2][3] The OLD notes that the preposition is regularly put after the personal pronouns, giving tēcum, sēcum, nōbīscum and vōbīscum.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is the ordinary Latin for “with me”;[2][1] the OLD's examples of cum include Livy's agite, ite mecum (“come on, go with me”).[4]

Semantic evolution

Servius comments on several of Virgil's uses: in the Aeneid (1.675) he explains mecum at 1.675 as “with Venus' help”, and at 9.284 as “for my sake”.[6]

The phrase vade mecum (“go with me”) became the English vade-mecum “handbook” in the 1620s.[7]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy writes ite mecum, “go with me”.[4][8]
  • c. 400 AD – Servius explains mecum in Virgil.[6][8]
  • 1620s – English takes over vade mecum as the name of a pocket handbook.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With me, in my company.[2][1]
  2. With my help, on my side.[6]
  • English vade-mecum

Usage notes

Latin regularly put cum after the personal pronoun, so mecum rather than cum me.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Servius, Commentarii in Vergilii carmina, ed. G. Thilo and H. Hagen, Leipzig 1881–1887 (Perseus Digital Library).
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Mecum.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/mecum. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·