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sestertium

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word sestertium

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (sēmis,tertius)

Forms

sēstertium n (genitive sēstertiī); second declension[1][2]

Etymology

It is the genitive plural of sēstertius (“sesterce”) in phrases such as ⟨deciēs centēna mīlia sēstertium⟩, “ten times a hundred thousand of sesterces”, taken as a neuter singular noun once ⟨centēna mīlia⟩ was left out.[2][3] ⟨Sēstertius⟩ stands for ⟨*sēmis-tertius⟩, “half the third”, two and a half, the value of the coin in asses;[2][4][1] de Vaan lists it among the derivatives of sēmi- (“half”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero has it with numeral adverbs: in On Duties an heir receives sēstertium mīliēs, a hundred million sesterces.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

With a numeral adverb the singular is a hundred thousand sesterces, so that deciēs sēstertium is a million, Cicero writes of a bond sēstertiī centiēs, for ten million, and Seneca of a dinner costing centiēs sēstertiō.[2][3] The plural sēstertia with cardinal or distributive numbers is reckoned in thousands, as Catullus' “give me back the ten thousand sesterces, Silo”.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a hundred thousand sesterces.[3][6]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of the plural for thousands.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of a ten-million-sesterce dinner.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (with numeral adverbs) A hundred thousand sesterces.[2][3]
  2. (plural, with cardinal or distributive numbers) A thousand sesterces.[3][2]

Word family

  • sestertiārius
  • sestertiolum

Usage notes

Sums were often written with the sign ⟨HS⟩, from ⟨II⟩ and ⟨S(ēmis)⟩, “two and a half”; ⟨HS X̅X̅⟩ is twenty thousand sesterces.[3]

References

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

“Sestertium.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sestertium. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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