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patrioticus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word patrioticus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 485–c. 580 AD, Cassiodorus
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek πατριωτικός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πατριωτικός

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pa.triˈoː.tɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pa.triˈɔː.ti.kus][1]

Forms

patriōticus (feminine patriōtica, neuter patriōticum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πατριωτικός (patriōtikós), from πατριώτης (patriṓtēs, “fellow countryman”), itself from πατρία (patría).[1] Within Latin it matches patriota with the suffix -icus,[1] and Lewis & Short connect it with patria.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cassiodorus (c. 485–c. 580 AD),[2][3] meaning “of one's native land”: in the Variae a reply is composed in the native tongue, and estates in the homeland are to be cultivated.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

A council of Orléans in 549 speaks of slaves freed in churches according to the local custom,[4] and Venantius Fortunatus uses it too.[3] Medieval Latin used it for what belonged to the country, “indigenous”, and as a noun for a fellow countryman.[5] English patriotic (1650s) came from French or directly from this Late Latin word; the sense “loving one's country” is from 1757.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of the native language and native estates.[4][3]
  • 549 – A council of Orléans speaks of local custom as patriotica.[4]
  • 536–c. 610 AD – Venantius Fortunatus uses it.[3]
  • 1650s – English borrows patriotic, from French or from Late Latin.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Late Latin) Of one's native land, native, of the homeland.[2][4][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Of the country, indigenous, local.[5]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A compatriot, fellow countryman.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Patrioticus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/patrioticus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·