Etymologically
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querela

Etymology and origin of the Latin word querela

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (queror)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kʷɛˈreː.ɫa][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kʷeˈrɛː.la][1]

Forms

querēla f (genitive querēlae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from queror “to complain” with the suffix -ēla.[2][1][3] It is also spelled ⟨querella⟩, which Wiktionary explains as a reanalysis as a diminutive.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a complaint.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a complaint, grievance, protest, as Cicero's complaints of several people, and in Petronius a formal legal complaint.[2][3] In poetry it meant a lament, as in Horace, and plaintive natural sounds, as in Cicero and Virgil.[2][5] It also meant a difference of opinion, a grievance, and in Seneca a bodily complaint, illness.[2] Döderlein explains that questus and quīrītātiō are expressions of pain, while querimōnia and querēla are expressions of indignation.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant complaint, action, accusation.[7] Medieval Latin used it of a request, a claim and a legal contestation, and British Medieval Latin of a plaint or suit.[8][9] English quarrel came in the mid-14th century through Old French querele.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a complaint.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of grievances.[2][3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of plaintive sounds.[5][4]
  • mid-14th century – English quarrel is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A complaint, protest, (law) a formal complaint.[2]
  2. A lament; a plaintive sound.[2]
  3. A difference of opinion, quarrel.[2]
  4. A grievance; an illness.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A claim; a lawsuit.[8][9]

Word family

  • querelosus

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Querela.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/querela. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·