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subsortitio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word subsortitio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin sors

Forms

subsortītiō f (genitive subsortītiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin subsortior (“to choose by lot as a substitute”) + -tiō.[2][3][4] That verb is formed from sub- and sortior (“to draw lots”),[2] which is made from sors (“lot”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero is its first author,[4] in the Verrines and the Pro Cluentio, of a second drawing of lots to choose judges in place of those the parties had rejected.[6][3][7]

Semantic evolution

It was a technical word of Roman courts, for filling up a jury by lot.[6][2] Suetonius uses it in his Life of Caesar of another kind of filling up: a drawing of lots by the praetor to choose citizens to receive grain in place of those who had died.[6][3][7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of choosing replacement judges by lot.[6][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of choosing new recipients of the grain dole.[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (law) The choosing of substitute judges by lot, in place of those rejected by the parties.[6][3]
  2. A choosing by lot to fill vacancies, such as those among recipients of grain.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  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 e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
Cite this entry

“Subsortitio.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/subsortitio. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·