Etymology and origin of the Latin word repulsus
repulsus1 rejected
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 234–149 BC, Cato
- Ultimate origin
- Latin pellō
From the same root · repulsus1
Forms
repulsus (feminine repulsa, neuter repulsum, comparative repulsior); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]
Etymology
The adjective “rejected” is from Latin repellō (“to drive back, reject”), its past participle.[1][2] That verb is formed from re- and pellō (“to push, drive”), whose participle de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *plh₂-to-, from a root meaning “to approach”.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates the adjective from Cato,[4] who asked in a speech, quoted by Festus, whether anyone was more shut out from public affairs: pūblicīs negōtiīs repulsior.[1][5]
Semantic evolution
The OLD glosses it “rejected, spurned”.[1] Georges and Gaffiot give the sense far removed, as in Lucretius, of something far removed from true reasoning.[2][6]
Timeline
- 234–149 BC – Cato uses the comparative repulsior in a speech.[1][4]
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it in the sense “far removed”.[2][4]
Meanings
Adjective
repulsus2 driving back
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 96–55 BC, Lucretius
- Ultimate origin
- Latin pellō
From the same root · repulsus2
Forms
repulsus m (genitive repulsūs); fourth declension[1][7]
Etymology
The noun “driving back” is from Latin repellō (“to drive back”) + -tus, a noun of action.[1][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates the noun from Lucretius,[4] who uses it of the images that are thrown back by mirrors with constant repeated rebounding: assiduō crebrōque repulsū.[1][7]
Semantic evolution
It is mostly poetic and found mainly in the ablative singular.[7][8] A verse of Cicero quoted in On Divination uses it of a roar echoing back from the rocks.[7][2] Pliny the Elder uses it of counter-pressure: of the impact of a hard material, of the teeth pressing out a viper's venom, and of a wind forced back by the stars.[1][8]
Claudian uses it of the reflection of light and the clash of shields,[7][2] Prudentius of a spear rebounding from a breastplate, and Augustine of weights made to move by an outside force.[8]
Timeline
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of images reflected by mirrors.[1][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of an echo from rocks in a verse.[7][4]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of counter-pressure.[1][4]
- 348/49–c. 413 AD – Prudentius uses it of a spear rebounding from armour.[8][4]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Cite this entry
“Repulsus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/repulsus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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