Etymologically
Log in

res

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 17:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈreːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈrɛs][1]

Forms

rēs f (genitive reī); fifth declension[1] The genitive and dative reī scan with a long or short e, and Lucilius and inscriptions have re for both.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *rē-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁-i- (“wealth, goods”), an i-stem whose nominative *reh₁ís would regularly have given *rīs; the Latin paradigm was rebuilt on the dative reī and a new stem *rēj-, from which the accusative rem and then the nominative were formed.[4][1][5] De Vaan connects the root with the Indo-Iranian aorist *rā-s- “to bestow”, and the TLL with a root *reh₁- “to give”.[4][5] Cognate with Umbrian ri (“thing, interest”), Sanskrit रयि (rayí-, “property, goods”) and Avestan raii- (“wealth”).[4][1][6] Lewis and Short, with the etymology still doubtful to them, suggested the root of reor “to think”, by analogy with German Ding (“thing”) and German denken (“to think”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is attested from the Twelve Tables,[4][7] which speak of matters judged by law (rebus iure iudicatis);[2] Ennius uses it of property reclaimed by the sword, and Plautus says that property finds friends.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its oldest sense, property or wealth, survives in res familiaris and in the divorce formula tibi res tuas habeas, “take your things”, and in the lawyers' actio in rem.[2][5] From there it became the most general word for a thing, whether an object or an abstraction, so that rerum natura is the physical world and res as opposed to verba the fact behind the word, while re, re vera and reapse meant “in reality”.[2][3]

It also meant a deed (res gestae, exploits, hence history), a field of activity (res militaris), a rite (res divina), sexual intercourse (res Veneris), the subject matter of a speech, an affair or business (res est mihi cum, I have to do with), a lawsuit (res capitalis), a purpose (ad rem pertinere, to be relevant), one's interest (in rem esse), affairs in general (res humanae), supreme power (rerum potiri), revolution (res novae), the state (res Romana, and the compound rēs pūblica), and a situation or outcome (res secundae, res adversae).[2][3][8]

Medieval charters use it for an estate, and res publica for the fisc, the Byzantine Empire or the Papal State.[9][7] It survives as French rien “nothing”, from the accusative rem, and as Spanish res and Portuguese rês “head of cattle”,[1] and English keeps it in legal and learned phrases, in re, res judicata and the rebus (c. 1600).[6]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables speak of matters judged by law.[2][4][7]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of property and of the state, restituit rem.[2][7]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of property, of a business and of a situation.[2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius writes De rerum natura.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero opposes res to verba and uses res publica throughout.[2][7]
  • 696 – A charter uses it of an estate.[7]
  • c. 1600 – English Rebus is borrowed into English.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Property, wealth, and in the plural goods, possessions, or a supply of something.[2][3]
  2. A thing, an object, any entity concrete or abstract, and in the plural the physical world.[2][3]
  3. The thing or fact as opposed to the word, reality, as in re, in fact.[2]
  4. A deed, an act, and in the plural exploits, history.[2]
  5. Activity in a field, or a rite, as in res Veneris, sexual intercourse.[2]
  6. The subject matter of speech or writing.[2]
  7. An affair, business; a matter at issue, a lawsuit.[2][3]
  8. A purpose, or a concern or interest, the latter in the phrase in rem esse, to be of advantage.[2]
  9. (plural) Affairs, public business, human affairs, supreme power, and res novae, revolution.[2][3]
  10. The state, the body politic, as in res publica, the commonwealth.[2][3]
  11. The state of affairs, a situation; an event; a factor.[2]
  12. (Medieval Latin) An estate, and res publica, the fisc, the Byzantine Empire or the Papal State.[9][7]

Word family

  • rēcula
  • rēfert
  • rēspūblica
  • rescula
  • eccerē
  • quārē
  • rē
  • reālis
  • reāpse
  • reus
  • rēs pūblica
  • English republic
  • English real
  • English rebus

Usage notes

Res publica, often written as one word, is the affairs of state, the public good, the body politic and, pregnantly, a free state as opposed to tyranny.[2] Old Latin spelt it popl- and pupl-.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 v w x Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e 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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill