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selectus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word selectus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
65–8 BC, Horace
Ultimate origin
Latin sēligō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin seligo
Latin selectus
From the same root
Latin selectio ← seligo

Forms

sēlectus (feminine sēlecta, neuter sēlectum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēligō (“to pick out, select”): the perfect participle of that verb, used as an adjective.[1][2][3] The verb is a compound of sē- (“apart”) and legō2 (“to gather, choose”).[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Horace has iūdex sēlectus, a juror chosen by the praetor for the list of judges.[2][1]

Semantic evolution

Besides the senses of the verb (“picked out, chosen”), it was a term of the courts: a iūdex sēlectus was apparently a juror appointed by the praetor to the official list, and under the empire perhaps a juror of the equestrian panels, as owing his place to the emperor.[1] Seneca uses the phrase too.[2] Augustine writes of the dī sēlectī, the select (chief) gods.[2]

Medieval British writers use it for “chosen, choice, select”, of a poem as of priests chosen to lead the others.[5]

Timeline

  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses iūdex sēlectus.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the same phrase.[2][6]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine writes of the dī sēlectī.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Chosen, picked out, select.[1][2][5]
  2. iūdex sēlectus: a juror chosen by the praetor for the list of judges.[1][2][3]
  3. dī sēlectī: the select (chief) gods.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Selectus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/selectus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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