Etymology and origin of the Latin word paratus
paratus1 ready
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 204–169 BC, Ennius
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European (*perh₃-)
Pronunciation
Forms
parātus (feminine parāta, neuter parātum, comparative parātior, superlative parātissimus); first/second-declension adjective[2]
Etymology
The adjective is the past participle of parō “to prepare, provide”.[2][3][4] De Vaan derives parō from Proto-Italic *parāje- and takes it, like most scholars, as a verb made from a noun ⟨*paro-⟩, from Proto-Indo-European *prh₃-o- (“providing”);[5] Rix's derivation from ⟨*prHye-⟩ does not fit his sound laws.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Ennius has prō bonā parātam glōriam, “glory ready at hand for a good life”.[2] Plautus has face id ut parātum iam sit, “see that it is ready now”.[2]
Semantic evolution
Parātus is “ready to hand, available”, of things “prepared, ready for use”, and of persons “ready, prepared” through training or equipment.[2][3][4] It also means morally or mentally ready for something (Cicero: tam ācrem, tam audācem, tam parātum, “so keen, so bold, so ready”).[2]
In Medieval Latin it means “decorated” and “in liturgical vestments”, and parāta pecūnia or parātī dēnāriī is ready money, cash.[6]
Timeline
- 204–169 BC – Ennius: parātam glōriam.[2][7]
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: face id ut parātum iam sit.[2][7]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero: tam ācrem, tam audācem, tam parātum.[2][7]
Meanings
Adjective
paratus2 preparation
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 81–43 BC, Cicero
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European (*perh₃-)
Etymology tree of paratus2
Pronunciation
Forms
parātus m (genitive parātūs); fourth declension[1] The ablative singular parātū is by far the commonest form.[8]
Etymology
The noun is formed from Latin parō + -tus, an action noun of the verb “to prepare”, like apparātus.[2][3][8][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Cicero speaks of wise men who need no necessārium vītae cultum aut parātum, “necessary care or provision for life”.[2][3] Köbler dates it from Cicero.[7]
Semantic evolution
Parātus is the act of preparing, “preparation” (Tacitus: Vitelliī parātūs nōscēbantur, “Vitellius' preparations became known”), and in the singular and plural “equipment, trappings, provision”.[2][3][1]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero: necessārium vītae cultum aut parātum.[2][7]
- 98–115 AD – Tacitus: Vitelliī parātūs nōscēbantur.[2][7]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Cite this entry
“Paratus.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/paratus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
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