Latin words first recorded in the 1st century BC

It is formed from Latin benevolēns (“well-wishing”) + -ia. The participle joins bene (“well”) and volō (“to wish, want”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *wel- and Proto-Indo-European *uelh₁-…

It is from Latin bēstia (“beast”) + -ārius. The origin of bēstia is uncertain; de Vaan compares bēlua (“beast, monster”).

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothḗkē, “library”). The Greek word is a compound of βιβλίον (biblíon, “small book”) and θήκη (thḗkē, “case, repository”); βίβλος (bíblos, “papyrus…

It is from Latin bi- (“two-”) + caput (“head”). The vowel of ⟨-cipit-⟩ is weakened from that of ⟨caput⟩, as in anceps and praeceps; de Vaan thinks the nominative ⟨-ceps⟩ lost its suffix by analogy…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek βόρειος (bóreios, “northern”), from Βορέας (Boréas, “the north wind”). Within Latin it looks like boreās (“the north wind”) with the suffix -ēus.

It is from Latin brācae (“trousers”) + -ātus, “wearing trousers”. The noun is probably from Gaulish *brāca, which may itself come from Germanic.

It is formed from Latin brevis (“short”) + -ter, the adverbial suffix. De Vaan traces ⟨brevis⟩ to Proto-Italic *mreχu- and Proto-Indo-European *mr̥ǵʰ-ú- (“short”), enlarged with ⟨-i-⟩ like other…

Wiktionary gives two routes: the name came into Latin straight from the language of the Britons, or it is from Ancient Greek Βρεττανία (Brettanía), the Greek name, with Πρεττανία (Prettanía) in…

It is from Latin Britannia + -icus.

It is from Latin brūma (“winter solstice”) + -ālis. Vitruvius already explained the name brūma, and that of the winter days, by the shortness of the day. De Vaan takes the noun to be the old…

It is from Latin caecus (“blind”) + -tās. De Vaan traces caecus to Proto-Italic *kaiko- and Proto-Indo-European *keh₂i-ko- (“one-eyed”), cognate with Old Irish cáech (“one-eyed”).

The origin is unknown. Köbler mentions a possible connection with caesariēs (“head of hair”), and Lewis & Short, following Döderlein, and the Century Dictionary cited by Etymonline prefer caesius…

The etymology is unknown. De Vaan suggests that its first meaning was “a piece cut off”, and a link with caedō (“to cut”) has often been proposed. The OLD compares Oscan kaispatar (“let it be cut”)…

The origin is unknown. An older explanation as a shortened compound meaning “binding the heel” was already rejected by Walde and Hofmann. De Vaan asks whether it is connected with a word for a…

It is from Latin cāneō (“to be white, grey”) + -ēscō, and the TLL derives it straight from cānus (“grey, hoary”), the base of that verb. The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *kasno- (“grey”) and…

It is from Latin cānus (“grey, hoary”) + -itiēs. De Vaan traces cānus to Proto-Italic *kasno- (“grey”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₁s-no- (“grey”), the root of the word for the hare in other…

It is from Latin capillus (“hair”) + -ātus. De Vaan finds the usual derivation of capillus from caput (“head”) difficult in both form and meaning.

It is a compound from Latin caper (“goat”) + cornū (“horn”), “goat-horned”. It corresponds to Greek αἰγοκερεύς (aigokereús), and Etymonline calls it a loan-translation of the Greek name of the…

It is from Latin capsa (“box, case”) + -ula, a diminutive.

It is from Latin captiō (“deception, sophism”) + -ōsus. That noun, literally “a taking”, comes from capiō (“to take, catch”), which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).

1. The adjective “captured” is from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”), its perfect passive participle, often used as a noun. Wiktionary traces the participle itself to Proto-Italic *kaptos, from…

It is from Latin carbasus (“fine linen”) + -eus. The noun carbasus goes back to Ancient Greek κάρπασος (kárpasos, “cotton”), which Wiktionary traces through Biblical Hebrew כַּרְפַּס (karpás…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek καρδιακός (kardiakós, “of the heart”), from καρδία (kardía, “heart; stomach”). Köbler traces the Greek noun to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- (“heart”).

It is from Latin castīgō (“to correct, punish”) + -tiō. Wiktionary derives castīgō from an unattested noun ⟨*castis⟩ “purity”, related to castus (“chaste”), and a suffix taken from agō (“to drive…

It is from Latin castus (“pure, chaste”) + -tās. Etymonline glosses castus as “cut off, separated; pure”.

It is from Latin castra (“camp”) + -ēnsis. De Vaan traces castrum, plural castra, to Proto-Italic *kastro- (“part, share”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱs-tro-; Walde–Hofmann and…

It is from Latin cavilla (“jesting, banter”) + -ō, a deponent verb. The origin of cavilla is disputed. The OLD derives it from calvor (“to deceive”), an explanation already proposed in antiquity; de…

It is the participle from Latin celebrō (“to throng; to celebrate; to make known”), used as an adjective. De Vaan thinks celebrō was back-formed from concelebrō, itself made from celeber (“crowded…

It is from Latin centum (“hundred”) + vir (“man”).

It is from Latin centumvir + -ālis, from the name of the ⟨centumvirī⟩, a Roman court for civil cases such as inheritance suits. That noun is made of centum (“hundred”) and vir (“man”), which de Vaan…

It is from Latin Cereālis (“of Ceres”), its neuter plural used as a noun. The adjective is formed from Cerēs, the goddess of corn.

It is from Latin cēdō (“to yield, give up”) + -tiō, a noun of action formed on the stem of its participle ⟨cessus⟩. The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *kesd-e/o- (“to go away, avoid”) and…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χειρόγραφον (kheirógraphon, “handwriting; bond”). Köbler explains the Greek word from χείρ (kheír, “hand”) and γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).

It is from Latin cicer (“chickpea”) + -ō, with the suffix that forms cognomina; Georges compares ⟨Tubero⟩ from tūber. Ancient writers also connected it with the chickpea. Pliny the Elder says that…

Used as an adjective, it is the perfect passive participle from Latin circumcīdō (“to cut around”).

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + scrībō (“to write, draw”). De Vaan traces scrībō to Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- (“to carve”) and Proto-Indo-European *skreibʰ-e/o- (“to carve”). Cognate with…

It is from Latin circumscrībō (“to draw a line around”) + -tiō. circumscrībō is circum- (“around”) with scrībō (“to write”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- (“to carve”) and…

It is from Latin circumscrībō (“to draw a line around; to cheat”) + -tor. The verb is formed from circum (“around”) and scrībō (“to write”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- (“to carve”)…

It is from Latin citrus + -eus. The base is probably from Ancient Greek κέδρος (kédros, “cedar”), through Etruscan, and the OLD compares that Greek word.

It is from Latin clangō (“to clang, ring”) + -or. clangō is compared with Ancient Greek κλαγγή (klangḗ, “shrill sound”), and Pokorny puts both under a root of crying and sounding…

It is from Latin clārus (“clear, bright; famous”) + -tās. De Vaan traces ⟨clārus⟩ to Proto-Italic *klāro- (“loud”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱlh₁-ro- (“loud, sonorous”); the shift from “loud” to…

It is formed from Latin clāvis (“key”) + -cula (“diminutive suffix”), so literally “little key”. The base clāvis goes back to Proto-Italic *klāwi- (“bar, bolt”) and Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“to…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra, “water clock”). The Greek word is made from the stem of κλέπτω (kléptō, “to steal, to hide”) and ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).

The simple verb is rare: it is a back-formation, from Latin inclīnō (“to cause to lean”) and the other compounds, acclīnō, dēclīnō and reclīnō, made by poets and grammarians on the model of Greek…

1. The adjective “forced, compressed” is from Latin cōgō (“to drive together; to compel”), its past participle. De Vaan explains that verb as a compound of co- and agō (“to drive”), with the perfect…

It is from Latin con- + arguō (“to make clear, prove”). De Vaan takes arguō as probably a denominative verb “to make bright”, from an adjective Proto-Italic *argu- (“bright”), from…

It is from Latin coemō + -tiō, from coemō (“to buy up”), a compound of con- and emō (“to buy”); Wiktionary analyses it as the same prefix and emptiō (“purchase”). The verb emō goes back to…

It is formed from Latin cohaerēns + -ia, from the present participle of cohaereō (“to stick together”). The OLD sets it beside the adverb cohaerenter. The verb is co- with haereō (“to stick”), which…

It is from Latin con- + lūceō (“to shine”). De Vaan traces lūceō to Proto-Italic *l(o)ukē- (“to be light”) and Proto-Indo-European *leuk- (“light”), with a full grade that he finds unexpected in a…

It is from Latin con- + lūdō (“to play”). De Vaan traces lūdō to Proto-Italic *loid-e/o- (“to play”) and Proto-Indo-European *loid- (“to let go frequently, play”), probably an o-grade present of…

It is from Latin collūdō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to play together; to act in collusion”. The verb is formed from con- and lūdō (“to play”), which de Vaan traces to…

It is from Latin colluō (“to wash out, rinse”) + -iēs. De Vaan counts the compounds in ⟨-luere⟩ among the forms of lavō (“to wash”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *lowa- and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin colluō (“to wash out, rinse”) + -iō, and colluō is a compound of con- and lavō (“to wash”). Its first meaning was what is washed together.

Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin colōrō (“to colour”), a verb made from color (“colour”). De Vaan traces that noun to Proto-Italic *kelōs- (“outside, aspect”) and…

It is from Latin coma (“hair”) + -ātus, formed like a participle, though no finite verb stands behind it in Classical Latin; the present participle comāns is its companion. The noun is from Ancient…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komḗtēs, “long-haired; comet”), from κομάω (komáō, “to have long hair”) and ultimately κόμη (kómē, “hair”), the noun that Latin also borrowed as coma. The…

It is from Latin cōmissor (“to revel, carouse”) + -tiō. That verb was borrowed from Ancient Greek κωμάζω (kōmázō, “to revel, make merry”), a derivative of κῶμος (kômos, “revel”). Döderlein, too…

It is from Latin commendō (“to entrust, recommend”) + -tiō, from con- and mandō (“to entrust”).

It is from Latin commentus (“devised”) + -īcius, from the participle of comminīscor (“to devise, invent”). That verb is a compound of con- and ⟨miniscor⟩, related to meminī.

It is formed from Latin con- (“together”) + mīlitō (“to serve as a soldier”) + -ō, the noun suffix, or from mīles (“soldier”). De Vaan calls the first part of ⟨mīles⟩ unclear; it may be linked with…