Etymologically
Log in

viscus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word viscus

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈwiːs.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈvis.kus][1]

Forms

vīscus n (genitive vīsceris); third declension[1] It is used mostly in the plural, vīscera.[2][3] An inscription and Apuleius have the nominative or accusative vīscum.[3]

Etymology

The origin is unclear.[4][3][5] Wiktionary and Köbler mention Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to turn, twist”), comparing vulva beside volvō;[1][6] Lewis & Short connect it with viscum (“birdlime”) and viscidus (“sticky”), as “the soft parts”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[4][6] who has dē lumbō obscēna vīscera, “the obscene parts from the loin”.[3] Accius speaks of veins vīscerum venēnō imbūtae, “steeped in poison”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Vīscera are the soft, fleshy parts of the body, as distinct from skin and bone, then the innermost parts, the internal organs (especially of the abdomen), and a single organ.[3][2] They are also the seat of thought and feeling, and with a possessive a person's own flesh and blood, his children.[3][1] Transferred, it is the innermost part, the heart of a thing: Virgil has Etna hurling up the torn vīscera montis.[3]

English viscera (1650s) is its plural.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: obscēna vīscera.[3][4][6]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius: vēnae vīscerum.[3][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil: vīscera montis.[3][6]
  • 1650s – English viscera.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (usually plural) The flesh, the soft parts of the body.[3][2]
  2. (plural) The internal organs, entrails, bowels; an organ.[3][2][1]
  3. (plural) The heart, the seat of feeling.[3]
  4. (plural) One's own flesh and blood, children.[3]
  5. (plural) The innermost part, the heart (of a thing).[3][1]

Word family

  • ēvīscerō
  • vīscerātim
  • vīscerātiō
  • vīscereus
  • vīscum
  • English viscera

Usage notes

A different viscus, genitive viscī, masculine, is a variant of viscum “mistletoe, birdlime”.[3][2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Viscus.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/viscus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·