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prosperitas

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word prosperitas

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin prosperus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin prosperus
Latin prosperitas
From the same root
Latin prospere ← prosperus
Latin prospero ← prosperus

Forms

prosperitās f (genitive prosperitātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prosperus (“favourable, prosperous”) + -tās.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, who has it four times, is its first author:[3][4] in On the Nature of the Gods he speaks of the prosperity of life that people have from the gods, and of improbōrum prosperitātēs “the successes of the wicked”.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is rare: four times in Cicero, twice in Nepos, once each in Pliny the Elder, Tacitus and Suetonius.[3] It meant a favourable state, good fortune, success;[2][5] Nepos uses it of good health, and Apuleius of favourable winds.[5][2] It became frequent in Late Latin, above all in Ammianus Marcellinus, Rufinus and Augustine,[3] and Ammianus also used it of a sign of joy and approval.[5]

Medieval Latin used it of worldly well-being, of health as opposed to sickness, and of the final blessedness after the resurrection.[6] English prosperity comes from it, partly through Old French, around 1200.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the prosperity of life given by the gods.[3][5][4]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it of good health.[5][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of favourable winds.[2][4]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it often.[3][4]
  • c. 1200 – English borrows prosperity.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. prosperity, good fortune, success.[2][5]
  2. A favourable condition or influence, as of winds or health.[2][5]
  3. (Late Latin) A sign of joy or approval.[5][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Health, as opposed to sickness.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Prosperitas.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/prosperitas. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·