Etymologically
Log in

tacitus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 20:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

tacitus (feminine tacita, neuter tacitum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of taceō (“to be silent”), used as an adjective.[1][2][3] De Vaan derives taceō from Proto-Italic *tak-ē- (“to be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *tHk-eh₁-;[4] Umbrian taçez (“silent”) continues the same participle ⟨*takēto-⟩, and the Germanic verb survives in Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þahan, “to keep silent”) and Old Norse þegja.[4] He rejects the LIV's link with Ancient Greek πτήσσω (ptḗssō, “to cower”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,[3] who has tacitī auscultēmus, “let us listen in silence”, and tacita bonast mulier semper quam loquēns, “a woman is always better silent than talking”.[1]

Semantic evolution

Tacitus is “silent, not speaking”, of the mind and of prayers “unspoken”, of things “noiseless” (Virgil: tacitīs … undīs, “silent waves”), and of sound “hushed, low”.[1][5] Of feelings it is “inward, not shown”, and of agreements “implied, tacit” (Cicero: tacita lēx est hūmānitātis, “it is an unwritten law of humanity”).[1][2] It also means “not mentioned, passed over in silence” (Terence) and, in Lucan and later, “hidden, secret”.[1]

Church Latin glosses it “silent”.[6] In medieval law it is used of a claimant who waives his claim and of a claim that is dropped.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: tacitī auscultēmus.[1][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of things kept quiet.[1][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: tacita lēx est hūmānitātis.[1][3]
  • 39–65 AD – Lucan uses it of hidden things.[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. silent, not speaking, quiet.[1][2][5][6]
  2. Unspoken (of the mind or of prayers).[1]
  3. Noiseless (of things); hushed, low (of sound).[1]
  4. Inward, not shown (of feelings).[1]
  5. Implied, tacit.[1][2]
  6. Not mentioned, passed over in silence.[1]
  7. Hidden, secret.[1]
  8. (Medieval Latin, law) Waiving (of a claimant); dropped (of a claim).[7]

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes silēre, to be still, the opposite of making a noise, from tacēre, to be silent, the opposite of speaking.[8] As a proper name Tacitus is a cognomen, borne by the historian Cornelius Tacitus, born about AD 56.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper