Etymologically

pastino

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pastino

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Columella
Ultimate origin
Latin (pastinum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pastinum
Latin pastino

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpas.tɪ.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpas.ti.no][1]

Forms

pastinō (present infinitive pastināre, perfect active pastināvī, supine pastinātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pastinum (“dibble”) + -ō.[2][1][3] The origin of ⟨pastinum⟩ is unknown, and the OLD compares, perhaps, pāla “spade”, and Wiktionary Proto-Slavic *paxati (“to plough”).[2][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Columella and Pliny.[3][5] Köbler dates Columella to the 1st century AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to dig and level the ground, trench it with the dibble, especially to prepare it for planting vines, as in Columella and Pliny.[2][3][5]

It survives as Italian pastinare.[1]

Timeline

  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it.[5][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny uses it.[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To dig and trench (ground) for planting.[2][3]

Word family

  • pastināca
  • pastinātiō
  • pastinātor
  • pastinātum
  • repastinō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pastino.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pastino. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·