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paulo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word paulo

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*peh₂u-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpau̯.ɫoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpaːu̯.lo][1]

Forms

paulō (not comparable)[1] It is also spelled paullō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is the ablative singular neuter of paulus “little”, an ablative of degree, “by a little”.[2][1] De Vaan lists ⟨paullus⟩ with paucus “few”, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂u-;[4] Walde–Hofmann derived it from ⟨*pauk-slo-⟩, but de Vaan prefers Thurneysen's view that it is a diminutive ⟨*pau-re-lo-⟩ of parvus “small”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius has septingentī sunt paulō plūs aut minus annī … postquam inclita condita Rōma est, “it is seven hundred years, a little more or less, since glorious Rome was founded”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Paulō goes with comparatives and words of time: “a little, somewhat” (paulō post, “a little later”, paulō ante, “a little before”) and, after a negative, “by little” (haud paulō, “by no little”).[2][3][1] Wiktionary notes a rare use without a comparative, “somewhat”.[1] Church Latin glosses it “by a little”.[5]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius: paulō plūs aut minus.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: paulō prius vīdī exeuntem mulierem, “a little earlier I saw a woman coming out”.[2][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence: sīquaest habitior paulō, “if a girl is a little plumper”.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: haud paulō māior scrīptor Platō, “Plato, a far greater writer”.[2][6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (with comparatives and words of time) A little, somewhat;[2][3][1][5] paulō post, a little later.[2][3][1][5]
  2. (after a negative) By little;[2] haud paulō, by no little.[2]
  3. (rare) Somewhat.[1]

Word family

  • paululō
  • pauxillō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Paulo.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/paulo. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·