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quassus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word quassus

quassus1 battered

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC, Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (quatiō)
Etymology tree of quassus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quatio
Latin incutio
Latin decutio
Latin quassus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷas.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷas.sus][1]

Forms

quassus (feminine quassa, neuter quassum); first/second-declension adjective[2]

Etymology

The adjective “battered” is from Latin quatiō (“to shake”), its past participle.[2][3][4] De Vaan finds no secure Indo-European etymology for the verb and thinks it may be of non-Indo-European origin.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro uses it of cracked jars bound with rushes.[2]

Semantic evolution

It describes things damaged by shaking or blows: Horace has battered ships repaired, Ovid has a cracked tile, Martial the broken wheel of a muleteer.[2] Of wood it means broken small, of torches and cinnamon in Ovid,[2] and of the voice broken or quavering, in Curtius.[2][5] Seneca applies it to a man battered and struggling with old age, Silius Italicus to a stricken city.[2]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro speaks of cracked jars.[2][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of battered ships.[2][6]
  • 1st century AD – Curtius uses it of a quavering voice.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a man battered by old age.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Battered, bruised, cracked.[2][3]
  2. Of wood, broken small, chopped.[2]
  3. Of the voice, broken, quavering.[2][5]
  4. (figurative) Crushed by misfortune, stricken.[2][5]

quassus2 shaking

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
220–130 BC, Pacuvius
Ultimate origin
Latin (quatiō)
Etymology tree of quassus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quatio
Latin incutio
Latin decutio
Latin quassus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷas.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷas.sus][1]

Forms

quassus m (genitive quassūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “shaking” is from Latin quatiō (“to shake”) + -tus, a noun of action.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Pacuvius,[4] in a line Cicero quotes, where handling and shaking increase the pain of a wounded man.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare word: besides Pacuvius the OLD cites only Seneca, who calls man a vessel that breaks at any shaking.[2]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of shaking a wounded man.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a vessel broken by any shock.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A shaking.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Quassus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quassus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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