Etymology and origin of the Latin word turbido
turbido1 make turbid
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1st half 3rd century AD, Solinus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin turbidus
Forms
turbidō (present infinitive turbidāre, perfect active turbidāvī, supine turbidātum); first conjugation[1][2]
Etymology
The verb is from Latin turbidus (“muddy, troubled”).[1][2][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Its first author is Solinus, who uses it of making water muddy.[1][2][4]
Semantic evolution
L&S labels the verb post-classical.[1] Martianus Capella uses it of clouded air and, figuratively, of disturbing gladness;[1][4] Sidonius speaks of troubling the serenity of the soul.[2][3]
Timeline
- 1st half 3rd century AD – Solinus uses it of making water muddy.[1][5]
- c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius uses it figuratively of troubling the calm of the mind.[2][5]
Meanings
Verb
turbido2 storm; turbidity
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 354–430 AD, Augustine
- Ultimate origin
- Latin turbō
From the same root · turbido2
Forms
turbīdō f (genitive turbīdinis); third declension[2][3] It is also spelled turbēdō.[2][5]
Etymology
The noun is from Latin turbō (“to disturb”) according to Köbler, who also connects it with turba.[5] Georges and Gaffiot derive it from ⟨turbō⟩ without saying more,[2][3] and Dvoretsky equates it with the noun turbō (“whirlwind”).[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in a sermon of Augustine, figuratively, of the “storms” of spiritual wickedness.[2][3][5]
Semantic evolution
A letter of Rusticus pairs turbedines with procellae, the storms of this life.[2] Fortunatus, in his Life of Radegund, uses it concretely for the cloudiness of a liquid.[2][3]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Dvoretsky, I. Kh. (1976), Latinsko-russkij slovarʹ [Latin–Russian Dictionary], 2nd ed., Moscow: Russkij jazyk
Cite this entry
“Turbido.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/turbido. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
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