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obtrunco

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word obtrunco

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (truncus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin trunco
Latin obtrunco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔpˈtrʊŋ.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈtruŋ.ko][1]

Forms

obtruncō (present infinitive obtruncāre, perfect active obtruncāvī, supine obtruncātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled optruncō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ob- + truncō (“to lop, maim”).[2][1] The TLL derives it from ob and truncus.[3] De Vaan thinks the oldest form of this word was an adjective, maimed or stripped of branches or head, and finds no convincing outside connection.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.[4] In the OLD's earliest quotation Plautus says that Amphitruo killed King Pterelas with his own hand.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is usually to cut to pieces, slaughter, kill;[6][2] Lewis & Short note that Cicero and Caesar do not use it, and give trucīdō, iugulō and occīdō as synonyms.[6][2] The rare literal sense, to lop the top off a plant, is in Columella, of cutting back a grafted vine.[2][6] Manuscripts spell it ⟨optr-⟩ and ⟨obstr-⟩, and Ammianus has short perfect forms.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of killing a king.[2][4][5]
  • 1st century AD – Columella of cutting back a vine.[2][6][5]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses the short perfect.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To cut to pieces, slaughter, butcher, kill.[2][6][1]
  2. To lop or prune the top of a plant.[2][6][1]

Word family

  • obtruncātiō

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Obtrunco.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/obtrunco. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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