Etymologically
Log in

tersus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word tersus

tersus1 neat, clean

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin tergeō
Etymology tree of tersus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tergeō
Latin tersus
From the same root · tersus1
Latin abstergeō ← tergeō
Latin dētergeō ← tergeō
Latin extergeō ← tergeō
Latin mantēle ← tergeō
Latin pertergeō ← tergeō

Forms

tersus (feminine tersa, neuter tersum, comparative tersior, superlative tersissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1] Varro, quoted by Nonius, has the form tertus.[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, the word for “neat, clean” is the past participle from Latin tergeō (“to rub clean, polish”).[1][2] De Vaan traces the verb back to Proto-Italic *terg- and finds no certain cognates.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus applies it to a woman, meaning clean.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant neat and trim: Varro describes slaves so close-cropped and spruce that they look like a dealer's wares.[1] Festus records that the ancients said tersus of a clear, cloudless day.[1] Of writing and taste it meant polished and refined, as in Quintilian's “a keen and polished judgement”.[1][2]

Jerome uses it of polished floors,[2] and Church Latin kept the senses clean, neat and free of faults.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a clean woman.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of spruce, well-groomed slaves.[1][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of polished judgement and style.[1][4]
  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it of polished floors.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Clean, neat, trim, spruce.[1][2]
  2. (of weather) Clear, cloudless.[1]
  3. (of writing or taste) Polished, refined, faultless.[1][2][5]

tersus2 wiping

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 125–175 Apuleius
Ultimate origin
Latin tergeō
Etymology tree of tersus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tergeō
Latin tersus
From the same root · tersus2
Latin abstergeō ← tergeō
Latin dētergeō ← tergeō
Latin extergeō ← tergeō
Latin mantēle ← tergeō
Latin pertergeō ← tergeō

Forms

tersus m (genitive tersūs); fourth declension[6] Only the dative tersuī is attested.[7][2]

Etymology

The noun for “a wiping” is formed from Latin tergeō + -tus3.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apuleius uses it of towels brought for drying,[8][2][4] and elsewhere of a powder for cleaning the teeth.[8][7]

Timeline

  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of wiping and cleaning.[8][2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wiping dry or clean, a cleansing.[1][8]

Usage notes

A medieval English glossary gives tersus as a word for a piece of turf.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Tersus.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/tersus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·