Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Latin word passum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin pandō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pando
Latin passum
From the same root
Latin pandus ← pando

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpas.sũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpas.sum][1]

Forms

passum n (genitive passī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pandō (“to spread out”): the neuter of its past participle ⟨passus⟩ “spread out (to dry), dried”, used as a noun with vīnum (“wine”) understood.[2][3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's first author is Plautus,[4] who mentions it in the Pseudolus.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a wine made from dried grapes, what Wiktionary calls raisin wine or straw wine.[3][1] Varro and the other agricultural writers deal with it, and Virgil names it in the Georgics.[3][5][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus mentions it in the Pseudolus.[5][4][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro mentions it.[3][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil names it in the Georgics.[5][3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. raisin wine, wine made from dried grapes, straw wine.[2][3][5][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b 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 Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Passum.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/passum. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·