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turdus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word turdus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Inherited from
Proto-Italic *torzdo-
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*(s)tr(o)sdʰo-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtʊr.dʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtur.dus][1]

Forms

turdus m (genitive turdī); second declension[1] Persius has a feminine turda, which Varro rejects.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *torzdo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tr(o)sdʰo- (“thrush”);[3] de Vaan thinks it more likely continues a form ⟨*tr̥zdo-⟩.[3] Cognate with Old Irish truit (“thrush”), Lithuanian strãzdas (“thrush”) and Old Norse þrǫstr (“thrush”),[3] and with English thrush.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[3] who has a thrush going for a worm from a snare, ab transenna hic turdus lumbricum petit.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is the thrush or a similar bird, such as the fieldfare.[4][2][1] Varro discusses thrushes kept in aviaries, and Horace, Columella and Pliny the Elder also write of them.[2] Varro also has the turdārium, an enclosure where thrushes were kept.[3][5] Ennius uses it of a fish of rocky shores, probably a wrasse.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of a thrush and a snare.[4][3][6]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius, of a fish.[4][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro, of thrushes kept in aviaries.[2][3][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A thrush or similar bird, a fieldfare.[4][2][1]
  2. A fish of rocky shores, probably a wrasse.[4]

Word family

  • turda
  • turdārium
  • turdēla
  • English thrush

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Related etymologies

  • ulcus · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • anser · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • grando · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • hio · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • vapulo · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • nidus · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • neptis · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • libum · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry

“Turdus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/turdus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·