Etymology and origin of the Latin word vulgo
vulgo1 commonly
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (vulgus)
Pronunciation
Forms
vulgō (not comparable)[1] It is also spelled volgō.[2][3]
Etymology
The adverb “commonly” is formed from vulgus (“the common people, the crowd”) with the adverbial ending -ō, an old dative or ablative.[2][1] De Vaan says ⟨vulgus⟩ may go back to Proto-Italic *wolgo- or ⟨*welgos-⟩, with no further etymology.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[4] In the Bacchides a man would rather die than have the disgrace spread vulgō, among everyone.[2]
Semantic evolution
It means in a way common to all, publicly, often of prostitution, and in the jurists promiscuously: a child born vulgō follows the status of its mother.[2] More generally it is commonly or usually, as a rule, already in Plautus, also with a third person plural, “people usually”: facit ille quod vulgō haud solent, “he does what people usually don't”.[2] Church Latin glosses it “commonly, generally, publicly, everywhere”.[5]
Timeline
Meanings
Adverb
vulgo2 make public
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (vulgus)
Pronunciation
Forms
vulgō (present infinitive vulgāre, perfect active vulgāvī, supine vulgātum); first conjugation[1] It is also spelled volgō.[2][3]
Etymology
The verb “make public” is formed from vulgus (“the common people, the crowd”) with the verb suffix -ō.[2][1][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Plautus has it of making someone common to all, and of a woman who prostituted herself in her husband's absence.[2][6]
Semantic evolution
It is to make something available to all or common, to prostitute one's body, and to make a rule general.[2] It is to scatter abroad, as Lucretius' first elements spread through time, and to spread a disease: Livy says the very contagion spread the sickness.[2] Above all it is to make widely known or spread a report, as Varro's in vulgum vulgās, and with an infinitive to spread the story that something happened (Livy).[2] It is to publish a literary work (Martial), to expose to view, and to make famous (Ovid).[2]
Church Latin glosses it “publish, spread, make known”.[5] Its participle gave the name of the Vulgate, the Bible in common use, from Late Latin vulgāta, English Vulgate dates from about 1600.[7]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of making common and prostituting.[2][6]
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius of scattering abroad.[2][6]
- 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of spreading disease and news.[2][6]
- 40–102/103 AD – Martial of publishing poems.[2][6]
- c. 1600 – English Vulgate.[7]
Meanings
Verb
- To make common to all; to prostitute.[2][1]
- To spread abroad; to spread (a disease).[2]
- To make known, publish, divulge; to publish (a book).[2][1][5]
- To make famous.[2]
Word family
- dīvulgō
- ēvulgō
- pervulgō
- vulgātus
- vulgātor
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry
“Vulgo.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vulgo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
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