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thronus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word thronus

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
Pliny the Elder
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek θρόνος
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*dʰer-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtʰrɔ.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtrɔː.nus][1]

Forms

thronus m (genitive thronī); second declension[1] Also thronos.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θρόνος (thrónos, “seat, throne”), which Köbler links with Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to hold, support”).[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Pliny the Elder, of the throne of Jupiter.[4][5] Köbler dates Pliny 23/24–79 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

It was an elevated seat, a chair of state, a throne, as of Jupiter in Pliny the Elder and in a verse quoted by Suetonius, and Pliny also names a constellation thronos Caesaris.[2][4][5]

In Christian Latin the plural thronī were the Thrones, an order of angels.[6][7] British Medieval Latin used it for a throne, also figuratively, and thronus grātiae “the throne of grace” after Hebrews.[8] English throne came through Old French trone about 1200, first the seat of God or a saint.[9]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.[4][3]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius quotes it in a verse.[4][3]
  • c. 1200 – English trone is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A throne, chair of state.[2]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) (plural) The Thrones, an order of angels.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Thronus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/thronus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·