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palam

Etymology and origin of the Latin word palam

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Ennius

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpa.ɫãː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpaː.lam][1]

Forms

palam (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2] De Vaan reports three proposals by Schrijver: the ending ⟨-am⟩ was taken over from clam “secretly”; it is a locative Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂-em-i “in the flat hand”; or an accusative.[2][1] The root would be *pelh₂- (“flat”), the source of plānus and palma.[1][3] The OLD compares Old Church Slavonic поле (polje, “field”) and takes the ending from ⟨clam⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Ennius, whom he dates 204–169 BC, and the OLD's first citation for “openly” is from Ennius.[3][4] De Vaan has it from Plautus on.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant openly, publicly, without concealment, as in Ennius, and with facere or prōferre to make known, divulge, as in Plautus.[4] Its use as a preposition with the ablative, “openly before”, as in Horace, is later than that of clam.[4][2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant openly, evidently.[5] British Medieval Latin used it for publicly, often contrasted with clam, and in palam venīre “to come into the open”.[6] It is the base of Italian palese “evident”.[1]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[4][3]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has palam facere.[4][3]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it as a preposition.[4][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Openly, publicly, without concealment.[4]
  2. (with facere and similar verbs) To make known, divulge.[4]

Preposition

  1. (with the ablative) In the presence of.[4]

Word family

  • dēpālō
  • prōpalam

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Palam.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/palam. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·