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neglectus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word neglectus

neglectus1 neglected

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin legō
Etymology tree of neglectus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin neglego
Latin neglectus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nɛˈɡɫeːk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [neˈɡlɛk.tus][1]

Forms

neglēctus (feminine neglēcta, neuter neglēctum, superlative neglēctissimus); first/second-declension adjective[2][3] It is also spelled neclēctus.[2]

Etymology

The adjective “neglected” is from Latin neglegō (“to disregard, neglect”), its past participle.[2][3] De Vaan explains the ⟨-e-⟩ of ⟨-legere⟩ as a sign that such compounds are fairly recent, probably formed with legō2 (“to collect”); he finds a connection with Ancient Greek ἀλέγω (alégō, “to heed”) problematic.[4] The simple verb goes back to Proto-Italic *leg-e- and Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-e/o- (“to collect”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Used as an adjective, it appears in Cicero's De finibus, which speaks of people who are of little worth and neglected among themselves (vīlēs neglēctīque).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The OLD lists it mainly in the senses of the verb: not cared for, neglected.[2] Georges cites neglected beauty in Ovid, a neglected field in Horace and a neglected camp in Livy, and Statius has the superlative neglēctissima.[3][2] Pliny the Elder uses it of footprints made carelessly.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of people held cheap and neglected.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of something done carelessly.[2][5]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius has the superlative neglēctissima.[3][5]
  • 1520s – English borrows the participle as the verb neglect.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not cared for, neglected, disregarded.[2][3]
  2. Carelessly made or done.[2]

neglectus2 neglect

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Latin legō
Etymology tree of neglectus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin neglego
Latin neglectus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nɛˈɡɫeːk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [neˈɡlɛk.tus][1]

Forms

neglēctus m (genitive neglēctūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “neglect” is from Latin neglegō (“to disregard”) + -tus, a noun of action.[2][1][7] De Vaan takes the verb as a compound of legō2 (“to collect”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first known use is in Terence's Heauton timorumenos: haec rēs neutiquam neglēctuī mihi est, “I am by no means neglecting this matter”.[8][7][5]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare word beside neglēctiō and neglegentia.[8] The TLL finds it in verse only in Terence and in classical prose only in Pliny the Elder; it reappears from the 4th century AD, mostly in letters such as those of Symmachus, Ennodius and Gregory the Great, and has no plural.[7] The dative in neglēctuī habēre, to leave neglected, recurs in Church canons and later writers.[7]

Medieval British writers used it for inattention or neglect, for failure to carry out a duty, and, in neglēctuī trādere, for consigning something to oblivion.[9] Köbler records it in capitularies, Church councils, charters and legal formulae.[5]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in the dative neglēctuī.[8][7][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it in prose.[8][7][5]
  • c. 340–402 AD – Symmachus uses it in a letter.[7][5]
  • 705 – A letter of Wealdhere uses neglēctuī habēre.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The fact of taking no notice, neglect, disregard.[2][8][10]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Failure to perform a task or obligation.[9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Oblivion resulting from neglect.[9]

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 k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d 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
  10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Neglectus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/neglectus. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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