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scintillo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word scintillo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (scintilla)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin scintilla
Latin scintillo
Derived words
English tinsel ← scintilla

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [skɪnˈtɪl.loː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ʃinˈtil.lo][1]

Forms

scintillō (present infinitive scintillāre, perfect active scintillāvī, supine scintillātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin scintilla (“spark”) + -ō, a verb formed from the noun.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus,[2][3] of flashing eyes in the Menaechmi: ut oculī scintillant, vidē!, “look how the eyes are flashing!”[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it a poetic and post-Augustan word.[3] It meant to give off sparks, as Virgil's oil spitting in a burning lamp,[3][4] and then to sparkle or flash: of lightning, stars and other lights in the sky in Lucretius, Manilius and Pliny the Elder;[2][3] of eyes in anger, as in Persius;[2] of gold, gems such as the carbuncle, and helmet crests in Pliny and Silius Italicus.[2][3]

Figuratively, Silius has anger flash on bloody cheeks, Calpurnius the fire of love, and Ambrose the ardour of desire glowing in the minds of listeners.[3] English scintillate was formed from its participle in the 1620s.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of flashing eyes.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the sky.[3][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of oil sputtering in a lamp.[3][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of lightning, gold and gems.[2][6]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it figuratively.[3][6]
  • 1620s – English scintillate is formed from its participle.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To give off sparks.[2][3]
  2. (of stars, lightning and other lights) To twinkle, flash.[2]
  3. (of the eyes) To flash with anger or madness.[2]
  4. (of metals and gems) To glitter, sparkle.[2][3]
  5. (figurative) To glow, flash (of passions).[3]

Word family

  • scintillātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Scintillo.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/scintillo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·