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singillatim

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word singillatim

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*s(e)m-gʰ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin singuli
Latin singillatim

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sɪŋ.ɡɪlˈlaː.tĩː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [sin̠ʲ.d͡ʒilˈlaː.tim][1]

Forms

singillātim (adverb; not comparable)[2] It is also spelled singulātim; an inscription has sin(g)ilatim.[2] Many manuscripts have sigillātim, and there is a contracted singultim.[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin singulī (“one each, single”) + -im.[2][1] De Vaan traces singulī to Proto-Italic *sem-g-(lo-) and Proto-Indo-European *s(e)m-gʰ- (“single”): following Meiser, he sees a distributive particle and the suffix ⟨-lo-⟩, and dismisses an older derivation from the root meaning to be born.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[4][5] Lucilius writes that each of us is moved in this way one by one.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is one by one, singly, separately.[2][3] Cicero speaks of discussing each kind singly rather than in general terms, and Lewis & Short quote it also from Terence, Lucretius, Caesar, Sallust and Suetonius.[3] Köbler lists it in medieval sources such as the Frisian and Salic law codes.[5] Church Latin glosses it separately, singly, one by one, individually.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[4][5]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of each of us moved one by one.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of discussing each kind singly.[3][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. One by one, singly, separately.[2][3][1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Singillatim.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/singillatim. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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