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permities

Etymology and origin of the Latin word permities

History Permalink
Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pɛrˈmɪ.ti.eːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [perˈmit.t͡si.es][1]

Forms

permitiēs f (genitive permitiēī); fifth declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.[2][1] Forssman derives it from an adjective *per-em-o- “destroying”, from the verb of perimō “to destroy”, with an abstract suffix -itiēs and syncope.[2][1] Wachter instead reconstructs *per-mit-iēs from a verb “to send to ruin”, related to Old Latin mitat and mittō.[2][1] The OLD and Gaffiot treat it as a variant of perniciēs, while Lewis and Short call it a distinct word, and Forssman explains perniciēs as a remake of permitiēs after nex “death” and necō “to kill”.[3][4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who uses it in the opening of the Mostellaria.[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant deadly harm, ruin, destruction, and of a person a source of ruin, a pest, as Plautus' abuse of a slave.[3][4] Accius has the genitive permitī.[3] Its derivative permitiālis “destructive” is found from Lucretius.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a person.[4][6]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it.[3][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius has the derivative permitiālis.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Deadly harm, ruin, destruction.[3]
  2. (of persons) A source of destruction, pest.[3][4]

Word family

  • permitiālis

References

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

“Permities.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/permities. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·