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vito

Etymology and origin of the Latin word vito

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Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwiː.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈviː.to][1]

Forms

vītō (present infinitive vītāre, perfect active vītāvī, supine vītātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2][1] Walde and Hofmann and the OLD took it from *vi-itō “to go out of the way”, but frequentative verbs of that type are recent, which rules out an old form.[2][3] De Vaan prefers a link with invītus “unwilling” and vīs “you want”, from *wih₁-to- “wished for”, with the verb back-formed from a *dē-vītus “avoiding”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who asks how a woman can avoid vices.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to move out of the way of, dodge weapons and missiles, as Caesar's men avoided the enemy's spears, and to keep out of the way of a person.[3][5] It was to keep clear of places, as Cicero says he avoided Brundisium, and to shun a course of action, as Cicero avoiding blame.[3][5]

Its compound ēvītō gave ēvītābilis and inēvītābilis, the source of English inevitable in the mid-15th century.[6] It has no Romance descendants, fugiō and new verbs having replaced it.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of avoiding vices.[3][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar's men dodge the spears.[5][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero avoids Brundisium.[3][4]
  • mid-15th century – English inevitable is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To dodge, avoid (missiles).[3]
  2. To keep out of the way of (a person).[3]
  3. To keep clear of (a place).[3]
  4. To shun, avoid (an action).[3]
  • ēvītābilis
  • ēvīto
  • invītō
  • vītābilis
  • vītātiō
  • invītus
  • fugiō
  • English inevitable

References

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

“Vito.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vito. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·