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pinguis

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pinguis

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Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpɪŋ.ɡʷɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiŋ.ɡʷis][1]

Forms

pinguis (neuter pingue, superlative pinguissimus); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2] The earlier form may have been a u-stem *pingu-.[2] De Vaan rejects the older proposals, a blend of *piHwo- “fat” with a word like Ancient Greek παχύς (pakhús, “thick”), or a link with opīmus, and finds most attractive the root *piH- “to swell, be abundant” of Lithuanian pienas (“milk”), which still leaves the nasal unexplained.[2][3][1] Wiktionary compares German feist (“fat”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who orders a fat lamb to be brought.[2][4] Köbler dates it from Ennius.[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant fat, sleek or plump, of animals and people, as Horace calls himself fat and sleek, and rich in fat, greasy, as Cato's piece of ham not too fat.[4][6] Of plants it was luxuriant, of soil rich, of sounds full, of things thick, and of the air thick or cloudy.[4] Figuratively it meant slow-witted, as Cicero says the Thebans were fat and strong because of their thick air, and in later Latin also comfortable or easy.[4][7]

Döderlein contrasts pinguis, fat seen as dull, with opīmus, well fed, and obēsus, overfed.[8] It was borrowed as Italian pingue, and English pinguid “fatty” came from it in the 1630s.[1][7] Some have derived English penguin from it, a doubtful idea.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus calls for a fat lamb.[4][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of fatty ham.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero calls the Thebans fat and strong.[4][5]
  • 1630s – English pinguid is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fat, plump, sleek.[4]
  2. Rich in fat, greasy.[4]
  3. (of growth, soil) Luxuriant, rich, fertile.[4][9]
  4. (of sound) Rich, full.[4]
  5. Thick, (of air) dense, turbid.[4]
  6. Slow-witted, dull.[4]

Word family

  • impinguō
  • perpinguis
  • pinguāmen
  • pingue
  • pinguēdō
  • pinguefaciō
  • pinguēscō
  • pinguiārius
  • pinguiculus
  • pinguitiēs
  • pinguitūdō
  • pinguiusculus

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes pinguis (fat, also dull), opīmus (well-fed, rich), obēsus (overfed) and corpulentus (bulky).[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Pinguis.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pinguis. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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