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praenuntius

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word praenuntius

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
96–55 BC, Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin (praenuntio)

Forms

praenūntius (feminine praenūntia, neuter praenūntium); first/second-declension adjective[1] It is also spelled praenuncius.[2]

Etymology

The TLL explains it as a back-formation from Latin praenūntiō (“to announce beforehand”), compare nūntius;[3] the OLD analyses it as praenūntiō with ⟨-us⟩.[1] De Vaan takes nūntius (“messenger”) from ⟨*nountio-⟩ but calls its further origin unclear.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Cicero, Quintus Cicero and Lucretius,[3] who has the winged herald that walks ahead of Venus in spring.[1]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it is announcing in advance, as Ovid's warning hisses.[1] More often it is a noun, a herald or harbinger: Ovid's cock is the bird that heralds the light, and the feminine is used of things that foretell, as Cicero's stars foretelling great disasters and a candidate's gathering of evidence for a prosecution as a herald of his defeat.[2] The neuter is a sign or omen in Pliny the Elder and Seneca.[2] The TLL notes that Augustine does not use it, though he often uses praenūntiō.[3] Stelten gives “forerunner”.[5]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of the herald of Venus.[1][3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of stars foretelling disaster.[2][3][6]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid, of the cock as herald of light.[2][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder, of omens.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Announcing in advance, foretelling.[1][2]

Noun

  1. A harbinger, herald, forerunner; a sign, omen.[1][2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Praenuntius.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/praenuntius. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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