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pellicio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pellicio

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (laciō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pɛlˈlɪ.ki.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [pelˈliː.t͡ʃi.o][1]

Forms

pelliciō (present infinitive pellicere, perfect active pellicuī or pellē̆xī, supine pellectum); third (-iō variant) conjugation[1] Also perliciō; perfect pellexī, but Laevius and Varro Atacinus have pellicuī; the grammarians record a form pelliceō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from per- and laciō “to entice”.[2][1][4] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *lak-i- (“to draw, pull”) for ⟨laciō⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of seducing.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to draw away, attract, as in Lucretius, and to win over by insidious means, seduce, captivate, as in Plautus and Terence.[2][4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to seduce, entice, allure, decoy.[7] Medieval Latin had a different pellicio, pellizo, a fur coat, from pellis.[8][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it.[4][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of attracting.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To attract, draw away.[2]
  2. To seduce, entice, win over.[2]

Word family

  • pellāx
  • pellicātor
  • pellecebra

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Pellicio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pellicio. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·