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sutura

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word sutura

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
59 BC–17 AD Livy More words from the 1st century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin suō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin suō
Latin sūtūra
English suture
From the same root
Latin cōnsuō ← suō
Latin īnsuō ← suō
Latin sūtor ← suō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [suːˈtuː.ra][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [suˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

sūtūra f (genitive sūtūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin suō (“to sew”) + -tūra.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first record is Livy,[3] who describes a sling strap made stiff by many seams, crebris suturis duratum.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It was the act of sewing and the seam or stitch that results.[2][4] Celsus uses it for the stitching of wounds and, in anatomy, for the sutures of the skull, remarking that a skull without sutures is rare;[4][6][2] Petronius has it of a seam too.[4][6] British Medieval Latin used it for sewing, for a seam, for the stitches that join the lips of a wound and for the serrated joint of the skull.[7]

English suture comes from it: “surgical stitching” in the early 15th century, the anatomical sense from the 1570s.[8] Italian sutura continues it as well.[6]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of the seams of a sling strap.[4][3]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of surgical stitches and of the sutures of the skull.[4][2][3]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of a seam.[6][3]
  • early 15th century – English borrows suture for surgical stitching.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sewing together; a seam or stitch.[2][4]
  2. (medicine) A suture closing a wound.[6][7]
  3. (anatomy) A suture of the skull.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Sutura.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sutura. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·