Etymologically
Log in

vehementer

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word vehementer

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*weǵʰ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vehemens
Latin vehementer

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [we.(ɦ)ɛˈmɛn.tɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ve.eˈmɛn.ter][1]

Forms

vehementer (comparative vehementius, superlative vehementissimē)[1] It is also spelled vēmenter.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin vehemēns (“violent, eager”) + -ter, the adverb of that adjective.[2][1] De Vaan lists vehemēns among the derivatives of vehō (“to carry”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *weχ-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-e/o- (“to carry”);[4][5] Walde and Hofmann's explanation as an old middle participle ⟨*weǵʰemenos⟩ can no longer be upheld.[4][5] Guiraud shows that the full form is older than the contracted ⟨vēmēns⟩ and first meant “who gets carried away”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has vāpulāre ego tē vehementer iubeō, “I order you to be soundly thrashed”, and ita fluctuāre videō vehementer mare, “I see the sea surging so violently”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Vehementer is “with great force, violently, energetically”, and of mental effort “strenuously, in an impassioned manner”.[2][3][1] Of feelings it means “strongly, deeply” (Plautus: vehementer īrāta, “violently angry”); from Varro and Cicero on it often means simply “very much, exceedingly” (id quod vehementer ad rem pertinēbat, “what was very much to the point”).[2][3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: vāpulāre ego tē vehementer iubeō.[2][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it as “very much”.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: vehementer ad rem pertinēbat.[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. violently, with great force, vehemently.[2][3][1]
  2. Strenuously, energetically, in an impassioned manner.[2][3]
  3. Strongly, deeply (of feelings).[2][3]
  4. Very much, exceedingly.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c 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 e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Vehementer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vehementer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·