Etymologically
Log in

vagor

Etymology and origin of the Latin word vagor

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (vagus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwa.ɡɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvaː.ɡor][1]

Forms

vagor (present infinitive vagārī, perfect active vagātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from vagus “wandering” with the verb suffix ⟨-or⟩.[2][1][3] An active ⟨vagō⟩ is mostly archaic, as in Plautus, Pacuvius and Accius.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of wandering and of straying.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to wander, roam without direction, as Cicero's in agrīs vagārī, of animals and of ships, and to stray beyond limits.[2][5] Of things it meant to move freely, and of heavenly bodies the planets, stellae vagantēs, as opposed to the fixed stars, as in Cicero.[2] Pliny uses it of restless eyes and of a meandering river, and Lucretius of conditions spreading freely.[2] Of speech it meant to range widely, be discursive, as in Cicero, and of things or persons to be unsettled, waver.[2] Döderlein explains that errāre is to go astray without knowing the way, vagārī and pālārī to wander by choice.[6]

French vague gave English vague in the 1540s from vagus, and English vagary came in the 1570s from Italian vagare or directly from vagārī.[7] Late Latin vagābundus gave English vagabond.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of wandering.[2][4]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius has the word.[4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the planets and of discursive speech.[2][4]
  • 1570s – English vagary is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To wander, roam; to stray.[2]
  2. To move freely; of planets, to wander.[2]
  3. To spread.[2]
  4. Of speech, to range widely, digress.[2]
  5. To be unsettled, waver.[2]

Word family

  • dīvagor
  • ēvagor
  • vagābundus

Usage notes

A different noun vāgor, -ōris, from vāgiō “to wail”, meant loud crying, especially of babies, and is in Ennius and Lucretius.[2][3][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Vagor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vagor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·