Etymologically
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varus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word varus

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Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwaː.rʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvaː.rus][1]

Forms

vārus (feminine vāra, neuter vārum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2][3] If its first meaning was “with the legs apart”, de Vaan compares vānus and vāstus and reconstructs Proto-Italic *wā-ro- (“going apart”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ueh₂-ro-; he finds no other proposed etymology plausible.[4][3] Wiktionary suggests a development “separated” > “opened” > “with the legs apart” > “bent”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler give Plautus first.[4][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It described limbs bent outwards or inwards with the ends converging, and so a person bow-legged or knock-kneed.[2][6] Varro says dogs' legs should rather be vāra than splayed.[2][7][6] Figuratively it meant different or diverse.[1] Its derivatives include vāricōsus “having varicose veins” and varix “a varicose vein”, and it was the family name of P. Quinctilius Varus, whose army was destroyed by Arminius.[4][2]

In medieval British Latin it meant bow-legged.[8] It was borrowed into medicine as English varus in 1800, for a turned foot.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the word.[4][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of dogs' legs.[7][5]
  • 1800 – English varus is recorded in medicine.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Bent outwards or inwards; bow-legged, knock-kneed.[2][6]
  2. (figurative) Different, diverse.[1]

Word family

  • vāra
  • vāricus
  • vānus
  • vārix
  • English varus
  • English varicose

Usage notes

A different word Latin varus (short a), found in Celsus and Pliny the Elder, meant a pimple or blotch on the face; de Vaan compares Lithuanian vìras (“pimple”) and Old English wear “wart, callus”.[2][4][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ 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

“Varus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/varus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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