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trecentiens

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word trecentiens

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81/79–52/50 BC, Catullus
Ultimate origin
Latin trecentī

Forms

trecentiēns (not comparable)[1] The OLD heads it as trecentiēs;[2][3] Martial has tricentiēs.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin trecentī (“three hundred”) + -iēns.[2][1] Köbler refers it to trēs (“three”) and centum (“hundred”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Catullus,[4] who has it in poem 29.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means on three hundred occasions or, in multiplication, three hundred times;[2] sestertium trecentiēs is thirty million sesterces.[2] Martial uses it too.[3]

Timeline

  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it.[3][4]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses the form tricentiēs.[3][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Three hundred times, on three hundred occasions.[2][3]
  2. (in multiplication) Three hundred times;[2] sestertium trecentiēs, thirty million sesterces.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
Cite this entry

“Trecentiens.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/trecentiens. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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