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thymum

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word thymum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
70–19 BC, Virgil
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek θύμον
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (θύμον)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtʰy.mũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtiː.mum][1]

Forms

thymum n (genitive thymī); second declension[1] The spelling thum- occurs in Celsus.[2] The spelling tym- occurs in Valerius Maximus.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θύμον (thúmon).[2][3][1][4] Köbler compares the Greek word with Proto-Indo-European *dʰeu̯h₂- (“to blow, smoke, reek”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Virgil,[4] who has it in the Eclogues and the Aeneid.[3]

Semantic evolution

The OLD describes it as a plant valued above all for its nectar: in Greece a kind of savory or wild thyme, extended in the west to include thyme proper.[2] Lewis & Short likewise take it of both the common or Roman thyme and the Cretan or Greek kind.[3] It occurs in Horace, Ovid, Pliny the Elder and Quintilian,[3] and the plural is used by Ovid and Martial.[3]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil.[3][4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace.[3]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder distinguishes kinds of thyme.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Thyme, or a related plant such as savory, valued for its nectar.[2][3][1]

Word family

  • thymōsus
  • thymus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Thymum.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/thymum. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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