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putresco

Etymology and origin of the Latin word putresco

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (puter)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pʊˈtreːs.koː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [puˈtrɛs.ko][1]

Forms

putrēscō (present infinitive putrēscere, perfect active putruī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is from putris or putreō “to be rotten” with the inchoative suffix -ēscō, from puter “rotten, crumbling”.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD and Gaffiot cite Varro, of decay.[2][3] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to decay, rot, putrefy, especially with a bad smell, of organic things, as in Varro and Horace; of inorganic things, to crumble, moulder with age, as in Lucretius.[2][3] Lewis & Short note that it is not in Cicero, where the right reading is pūtēscat.[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to become rotten, putrid, disgusting.[6] It survives in Italian putrire and French pourrir.[1] French pot pourri “rotten pot”, from the participle of pourrir, gave English potpourri in the 1610s.[7]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.[2][4]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of crumbling.[2][4]
  • 1610s – English potpourri is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To rot, decay, putrefy.[2]
  2. To crumble, moulder.[2]

Word family

  • computrēscō
  • imputrescō
  • perputrescō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Putresco.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/putresco. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·