Etymologically
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nutricius

Etymology and origin of the Latin word nutricius

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (nūtriō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [nuːˈtriː.ki.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [nuˈtriː.t͡ʃi.us][1]

Forms

nūtrīcius (feminine nūtrīcia, neuter nūtrīcium); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from nūtrīx “nurse”, stem ⟨nūtrīc-⟩, or from ⟨nūtrīcō⟩, with the suffix -ius, and is also spelled ⟨nūtrītius⟩.[2][1][3] ⟨Nūtrīx⟩ is from nūtriō “to nourish”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Varro, of Faustulus, the foster-father of Romulus and Remus.[2][3] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it meant of a nurse, nursing, nourishing, as in Columella.[2][5] As a masculine noun it meant a foster-father, and a child's guardian or tutor, as Caesar's nūtrīcius rēgis “the king's tutor”.[2][5] The neuter nūtrīcium meant the rearing of children or plants, in the plural a wet nurse's fees, and in Seneca tender care.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin a nūtrīcius or nūtrīcia was a guardian, a foster-father or foster-mother.[6] In Medieval Latin it meant a mentor or adviser of a young ruler, and also a pupil.[7] English nutritious is recorded from the 1660s, from this word.[8]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro calls Faustulus the pāstor nūtrīcius.[3][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of the king's tutor.[5][4]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of nursing.[2][4]
  • 1660s – English nutritious is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a nurse; nursing, nourishing.[2]

Noun

  1. A foster-father; a guardian, tutor.[2]
  2. nūtrīcium, rearing, nurture; tender care.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A mentor of a young ruler; a pupil.[7]

Word family

  • nūtrīcia
  • nūtrīcium
  • nūtrīciō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Nutricius.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nutricius. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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