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percussor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word percussor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (quatiō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin percutio
Latin percussor
Latin repercutio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛrˈkʊs.sɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [perˈkus.sor][1]

Forms

percussor m (genitive percussōris); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin percutiō (“to strike through, kill”) + -tor.[2][1] The verb is formed from per- and quatiō (“to shake”),[3] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kʷat-i-; its further origin is unclear, and he thinks it may be non-Indo-European.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero,[4] who uses it of an assassin.[5]

Semantic evolution

Its usual sense is a person hired to kill, an assassin, as in Cicero, Tacitus and Suetonius' assassin set on someone, and Petronius' nocturnal cut-throat.[2][5] In a general sense, a striker, it is post-Augustan, as Pliny the Elder's wounded lion that recognises the man who struck it.[5] Church Latin glosses it “striker, assassin, executioner, bandit”.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of an assassin.[5][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of a lion's attacker.[5][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of assassins.[5][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of a hired assassin.[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An assassin, murderer; an executioner.[2][5][6][1]
  2. A striker, stabber.[5][6][1]

Usage notes

Döderlein says that percussor and sīcārius are both instruments of another's will: the percussor carries out a public sentence, like a headsman, while the sīcārius hires out his hand for a secret murder, like a bandit.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
Cite this entry

“Percussor.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/percussor. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·