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turgidus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word turgidus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (turgeō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin turgeo
Latin turgidus

Pronunciation

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

Forms

turgidus (feminine turgida, neuter turgidum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin turgeō (“to swell”) + -idus.[2][1] De Vaan finds no clear etymology for turgeō; he thinks a link with obtūrō (“to block”) is possible.[3] Etymonline calls the verb of unknown origin.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler find it first in Plautus,[3][5] who in the Miles gloriosus uses it of swollen eyes.[6]

Semantic evolution

It means swollen or distended: Cicero speaks of a swollen and inflamed limb, Martial of swollen lips, and Pliny the Elder of a man swollen with water under the skin.[6] Of water it means risen or swollen, as Horace's rivers swollen with winter snow.[2] Apuleius uses it figuratively of people swollen with passion or frenzy.[2] Of style it means inflated or high-flown: Horace mocks a turgid poet who murders Memnon.[2] Stelten gives "turgid, swollen" for Church Latin.[7] English turgid came from it in the 1610s; its use of prose dates from 1725.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of swollen eyes.[6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a swollen limb.[6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of swollen rivers and a turgid poet.[2]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius of frenzy.[2]
  • 1610s – turgid appears in English.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Swollen, distended;[2][6][1][7] (of water) swollen, risen.[2][6][1][7]
  2. (figurative) Inflamed with passion or frenzy.[2]
  3. (of style) Inflated, high-flown, bombastic.[2][1]

Word family

  • turgidulus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Turgidus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/turgidus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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