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relictus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word relictus

relictus1 abandoned

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin relinquō
Etymology tree of relictus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin linquō
Latin relinquō
Latin relictus
From the same root · relictus1
Latin dēlinquō ← linquō
English relinquish ← relinquō
Latin dērelinquō ← relinquō
Latin relicta ← relinquō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛˈlɪk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈlik.tus][1]

Forms

relictus, relicta, relictum; superlative relictissimus[2]

Etymology

The adjective meaning “forsaken” is from Latin relinquō (“to leave behind, abandon”), whose perfect passive participle it is.[2][3] The verb is made of re- and linquō (“to leave”); de Vaan traces the participle stem back to Proto-Italic *likʷto- and Proto-Indo-European *likʷto-.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses it in the Verrines of a man left forsaken and of farmland lying derelict.[2]

Semantic evolution

Virgil speaks of a few acres of abandoned land.[2] In the land surveyors' writings it describes ground left unmeasured because the terrain was too rough,[2] and Fronto uses the superlative of people quite left out of praise.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a man forsaken and of derelict land.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of abandoned land.[2][5]
  • 100–170 AD – Fronto uses the superlative relictissimus.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Forsaken, abandoned; of land, derelict.[2][3]
  2. Left untouched, left out.[2]

relictus2 abandonment

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 165 Gellius
Ultimate origin
Latin relinquō
Etymology tree of relictus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin linquō
Latin relinquō
Latin relictus
From the same root · relictus2
Latin dēlinquō ← linquō
English relinquish ← relinquō
Latin dērelinquō ← relinquō
Latin relicta ← relinquō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛˈlɪk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈlik.tus][1]

Forms

relictus m (genitive relictūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun meaning “abandonment” is formed from Latin relinquō (“to leave behind”) + -tus3.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aulus Gellius uses it in the dative with esse: for the greedy, manly toil and bodily exercise are “a thing neglected”.[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

It remained rare; the TLL compares Gellius' own derelictui in the same construction.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it in the dative, relictui esse, “to be neglected”.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A leaving behind, abandonment, desertion;[2][7][1] relictui esse, to be neglected.[2][7][1]

References

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

“Relictus.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/relictus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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