Etymologically
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portio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word portio

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Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpɔr.ti.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpɔr.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

portiō f (genitive portiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is probably a back-formation from the phrase prō portiōne (“proportionally”), in which the word first occurs.[2][3] De Vaan derives the phrase from *prō ratiōne “per part”, which became *prōrtiōne and then, by dissimilation, portiōne; he finds this likelier than *prō partītiōne, since partītiō is not attested before Cicero while ratiō is found from Plautus.[3][1] The OLD instead starts from *prō partiōne, from pars, and the traditional view relates it to pars and to Ancient Greek πέρνημι (pérnēmi, “to sell”).[2][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses prō portiōne: a character tells another that, in proportion, he is neither man nor woman to him.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

Its oldest use is the phrase prō portiōne, “in the proper degree, proportionately”, and Lewis and Short note that otherwise it is post-Augustan.[2][5] It came to mean a ratio or proportion, a part of something, and the share due to a person.[2] Pliny the Elder speaks of the moon divided into equal portions.[5]

In medieval Latin it was an estate, a fortune, a share in a common right, a division, and the property set aside for monks.[6] It survives in Italian porzione and French portion, and English portion meant “allotted part, share” and also “lot, destiny” in the early 14th century.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses prō portiōne.[2][4]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of equal proportions in a remedy.[2][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a part of something.[5][4]
  • early 14th century – English portion is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. prō portiōne, proportionately, in the proper degree.[2]
  2. A ratio, proportion.[2]
  3. A part, portion.[2]
  4. The share due to a person.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) An estate; a fortune; a share in a common right.[6]

Word family

  • portionalis
  • portiuncula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Portio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/portio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·