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unguentum

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word unguentum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₃engʷ-e/o-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ʊŋˈɡʷɛn.tũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [uŋˈɡʷɛn.tum][1]

Forms

unguentum n (genitive unguentī); second declension[1] Plautus has a genitive plural unguentum.[2] Apuleius and inscriptions spell it ungentum.[3]

Etymology

It is formed from unguen (“ointment”), from unguō (“to anoint”), with an ending like -mentum.[3][2][4] De Vaan derives ⟨unguō⟩ from Proto-Italic *ongw-e- (“to anoint”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ-e/o- (“to anoint”), and ⟨unguen⟩ from Proto-Italic *ongw-en- (“ointment”).[5] Cognate with Umbrian umen (“ointment”), Old Irish imb (“butter”) and Sanskrit अनक्ति (anákti, “anoints”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has “not everyone can smell of foreign perfumes” in the Mostellaria;[2] Köbler also gives Plautus.[6]

Semantic evolution

It is an ointment, unguent or perfume.[3][2][1] In inscriptions ad unguenta and ab unguentīs name a household slave in charge of the perfumes.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “ointment, fragrant oil, perfume”.[7] English unguent, about 1400, is taken from it.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of foreign perfumes.[2][6]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius has the spelling ungentum.[3][6]
  • c. 1400 – Borrowed into English as unguent.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An ointment, unguent; perfume.[3][2][1][7]
  2. ad unguenta, ab unguentīs: a slave in charge of perfumes.[3]

Word family

  • unguentārius
  • unguentō

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Unguentum.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/unguentum. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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