Etymologically
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tinctura

Etymology and origin of the Latin word tinctura

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Pliny the Elder
Ultimate origin
Latin (tingō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tinctura
English tincture

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [tiːŋkˈtuː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [tiŋkˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

tīnctūra f (genitive tīnctūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tingo (“to dip, dye”) + -tūra.[2][1] Isidore of Seville explained it from cloth being dyed and coloured for beauty.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder uses it of the dyeing of stones and, in the plural, of dyes.[4][5] Köbler dates him 23/24–79 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant the process of dyeing or tinting.[2][7] The Vulgate uses it in the Book of Job, and Marcellus Empiricus of marks or spots on the body.[5]

In medieval British Latin it was dyeing, the colouring of skin, and in a phrase a dye-house.[8] English tincture is recorded around 1400 as a dye or pigment.[9]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of dyeing.[4][6]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Job.[5][6]
  • 1197 – A British record uses it of dye for sale.[8]
  • c. 1400 – Borrowed into English as tincture.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Dyeing, tinting.[2][4]
  2. (Late Latin) A mark or spot on the body.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A dye; a dye-house.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b c 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

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Tinctura.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/tinctura. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·