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revenio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word revenio

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʷem-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin venio
Latin revenio
Latin antevenio

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [rɛˈwɛ.ni.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [reˈvɛː.ni.o][1]

Forms

reveniō (present infinitive revenīre, perfect active revēnī, supine reventum); fourth conjugation, impersonal in the passive[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + veniō (“to come”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨veniō⟩ to Proto-Italic *gʷn̥-je/o- (“to come”), Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥-ye/o- (“to come”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Cicero's Dē ōrātōre.[4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to come back, return to one's home or country, as in Cicero and Tacitus, and figuratively of affairs to come back to a state, in the phrase in eum locum rēs revēnit “matters came back to this point”.[2][6][4]

It survives as French and Spanish revenir, Italian rivenire and Romanian reveni, and English revenue (early 15th century) comes from the French participle revenue “a return”.[1][7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[4][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it.[4][5]
  • early 15th century – English revenue is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To come back, return.[2][6]

Usage notes

Lewis & Short compare redeō and revertor.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Revenio.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/revenio. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·