Etymologically
Log in

stomachor

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word stomachor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (στόμαχος)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin stomachus
Latin stomachor

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈstɔ.ma.kʰɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈstɔː.ma.kor][1]

Forms

stomachor (present infinitive stomachārī, perfect active stomachātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin stomachus (“gullet, stomach; ill temper”) + -or,[2][1][3] a deponent verb made from the noun in its sense “annoyance, vexation”.[4][2] stomachus is from Ancient Greek στόμαχος (stómakhos).[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotation in the OLD is from Terence, who has id equidem adveniens mecum stomachabar modo, “I was fuming to myself about that just now on my way here”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that it is classical and especially frequent in Cicero.[4] It is used absolutely, with an ablative of the cause, with quod or sī, and with cum of quarrelling with someone, as when Cicero writes that Scipio stomacharētur cum C. Metellō.[4][6] With a neuter pronoun as object it means to be indignant at something: Cicero has stomachor omnia, “everything makes me angry”, and Augustus, in a letter quoted by Suetonius, sī quid stomachor.[2][4] Horace writes of a man who fumes over a badly cut nail.[4][7] Döderlein groups it with īrāscor and indignor as loud displeasure, against the silent displeasure of succēnseō.[8] Later Latin still used it: Apuleius has Venus stomachāta,[4][6] Augustine uses it,[6] and he also has a rare adverb stomachanter, “peevishly”.[4]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it with a neuter object.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it often in his letters and dialogues.[4][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace has prāvē sectum stomachēris ob unguem.[4][7]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius quotes Augustus' sī quid stomachor.[2][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses the participle of Venus.[4][6]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the verb and the adverb stomachanter.[6][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be angry or indignant, to be irritated, to fume or fret.[2][4][9]
  2. With a neuter pronoun as object: to be indignant at, take offence at.[2][4]
  3. With cum and the ablative: to quarrel with someone.[4][6]

Word family

  • stomachābundus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Stomachor.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/stomachor. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·