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sicarius

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word sicarius

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

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [siːˈkaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [siˈkaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

sīcārius m (genitive sīcāriī or sīcārī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from sīca (“dagger”) with the suffix -ārius.[2][1][3] De Vaan finds no way to connect ⟨sīca⟩ with the root of secō (“to cut”) and no other etymology, and thinks it may be a loanword.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cicero,[3][4] who in his defence of Roscius of Ameria speaks of an old assassin.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is an assassin, a murderer;[2][5] Quintilian notes that by extension all who kill with any weapon are called sīcāriī.[2][5] In law the quaestiō inter sīcāriōs or dē sīcāriīs was the standing court for murder, as in Cicero and Suetonius.[2] Döderlein contrasts it with percussor: the percussor carries out a public sentence, while the sīcārius hires out his hand for a secret killing.[6]

Church Latin glosses it “assassin, murderer”.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of assassins and the murder court.[2][5][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian on the wider use.[5][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of the murder court.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An assassin, murderer.[2][5][1][7]
  2. (law) quaestiō inter sīcāriōs, the court for cases of murder.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Sicarius.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sicarius. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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