Etymologically

turicremus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word turicremus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
96–55 BC, Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin tūs,cremō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tus
Latin turicremus
From the same root
Latin turibulum ← tus

Forms

tūricremus (feminine tūricrema, neuter tūricremum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2] It is also spelled thūricremus.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin tūs (“incense”) + cremō (“to burn”) + -us.[1][5][4] De Vaan takes cremō to be probably a denominative verb, whose further connections are unclear.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Lucretius,[4] of altars on which incense is burnt (arae).[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it poetic.[2] Virgil uses it of altars in the Aeneid,[2][8] Ovid of hearths (foci) in the Heroides and in the Ars amatoria,[2][8] and Lucan of fires (ignes).[2] In British Medieval Latin Walter of Wimborne calls the Virgin Mary an incense-burning altar (altare thuricremum).[9]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of altars.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of altars in the Aeneid.[2][8][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of hearths.[2][4]
  • 39–65 AD – Lucan uses it of fires.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Burning incense; on which incense is burnt (of altars, hearths and fires).[1][2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Turicremus.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/turicremus. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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