Etymologically

100s

Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century

282 Latin words whose earliest known written record dates from the 2nd century, earliest first. Words dated only to part of the century follow the ones with a year.

  1. adorabilis

    125–175

    It is from Latin adōrō (“to worship”) + -bilis.

  2. alternatio

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin alternō (“to do by turns, alternate”) + -tiō.

  3. antiae

    125–175

    It is from Proto-Italic *anti (“before, in front of”), the adverb that became ante. De Vaan regards it as a recent nominalization that presupposes an adjective formed from that adverb; it keeps the…

  4. commentator

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin commentor (“to think over, devise”) + -tor. The medieval sense of jailer comes, according to Wiktionary, from the jailer's duty of keeping written records (commentāriī) of…

  5. comoedicus

    125–175

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κωμῳδικός (kōmōidikós, “of comedy”), the adjective of κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from which Latin has cōmoedia.

  6. culpabilis

    125–175

    It is from Latin culpō (“to blame”) + -bilis, the verb from culpa (“fault, blame”).

  7. daemon

    125–175

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “god, divine power, spirit”). Köbler, after Pokorny, connects the Greek word with Proto-Indo-European *dā- (“to divide”), and Etymonline gives a…

  8. disseminatio

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin dissēminō + -tiō, from dissēminō (“to sow broadcast, spread abroad”).

  9. helcium

    125–175

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἑλκίον (helkíon, “yoke”), from ἕλκω (hélkō, “to draw, drag”), which Köbler traces to Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”). The OLD only compares the Greek verb.

  10. impossibilitas

    125–175

    It is from Latin impossibilis (“impossible”) + -tās, itself formed from possibilis (“possible”), from possum (“to be able”).

  11. insulatus

    125–175

    It is from Latin īnsula (“island”) + -ātus, with the form and sense of a perfect passive participle of a verb *īnsulō that is not attested while Latin was spoken.

  12. intimo

    125–175

    It is from Latin intimus (“innermost”) + -ō, a verb made from the adjective. The adjective is the superlative of intus (“within”).

  13. irrationabilis

    125–175

    It is from Latin in- + ratiōnābilis (“reasonable”), with the negative prefix.

  14. lucta

    125–175

    It is from Latin luctor (“to wrestle”), probably a back-formation on the model of pugna (“fight”) beside pugnō (“to fight”). Malkiel, as Wiktionary reports, saw lucta and pugna as forerunners of…

  15. magia

    125–175

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μαγεία (mageía, “magic, sorcery”), the noun of μάγος (mágos, “a member of the Median priestly caste, magus”), the word Latin took over as magus. Etymonline calls…

  16. mediator

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin mediō + -tor, from medius (“middle”).

  17. mino

    125–175

    It is from Latin minor (“to threaten, jut out”), an active collateral form of that deponent. Lewis and Short derive the sense “drive” from the threatening cries of cattle drivers, an old rustic use…

  18. momentarius

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin mōmentum (“movement; moment”) + -ārius. The TLL derives it from the ablative ⟨mōmentō⟩ used as an adverb, “in a moment”, and compares subitārius (“sudden”) and mōmentāneus…

  19. notorius

    125–175

    It is an adjective in ⟨-tōrius⟩. Georges, Gaffiot and Köbler derive it from Latin notō (“to mark, note”); L&S from a noun nōtor, and Wiktionary connects it with nōscō (“to get to know”).

  20. penetratio

    125–175

    It is from Latin penetrō (“to penetrate”) + -tiō.

  21. populosus

    125–175

    It is from Latin populus (“people”) + -ōsus. De Vaan traces populus to Proto-Italic *poplo- (“army”), whose further origin is unknown.

  22. primas

    125–175

    It is from Latin prīmus (“first”) + -ās; the TLL compares optimās. prīmus goes back to the Proto-Italic superlative *prī̆-isamo- (“first”).

  23. proximo

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin proximus (“nearest, next”) + -ō. De Vaan lists proximus among the derivatives of prope “near”.

  24. scrutinium

    125–175

    It is from Latin scrūtor (“to search, examine”); the OLD calls the ending obscure.

  25. secretarium

    125–175

    It is from Latin sēcrētus (“set apart, secret”) + -ārium.

  26. sessus

    125–175

    It is from Latin sedeō (“to sit”) + -tus, an action noun. Classical Latin has it only once, in Apuleius, but it lives on in most Romance languages: Romanian șes, Catalan ses, Old French ses and…

  27. silentiosus

    125–175

    It is from Latin silentium (“silence”) + -ōsus, and so goes back to sileō (“to be silent”).

  28. suculentus

    125–175

    It is formed from Latin sūcus (“juice, sap”) + -ulentus.

  29. suspectio

    125–175

    It is from Latin suspiciō (“to look up at; to suspect”) + -tiō.

  30. vegetatio

    125–175

    It is from Latin vegetō (“to enliven, invigorate”) + -tiō.

  31. lumino

    134

    It is from Latin lūmen (“light”) + -ō. According to the TLL it was formed from ⟨lūmen⟩ after the much older and commoner illūminō, which appears already in the Rhetorica ad Herennium and Cicero.

  32. arcarius

    140–180

    It is from Latin arca (“chest, money-box”) + -ārius. The noun is the adjective used substantively.

  33. condicionalis

    140–180

    It is from Latin condiciō (“condition, term”) + -ālis. That noun comes from condīcō (“to agree upon, promise”). Conte calls the adjective Late Latin.

  34. depretio

    140–180

    It is formed from Latin dē- (“down”) + pretium (“price”) + -ō.

  35. duplo

    140–180

    It is from Latin duplus (“double, twofold”) + -ō.

  36. evictio

    140–180

    It is formed from Latin ēvincō + -tiō, the noun of action of the verb meaning “to recover at law”. Wiktionary analyses it as the past participle ēvictus with the same suffix. The verb is formed from…

  37. obligatorius

    140–180

    It is formed from Latin obligō + -tōrius, from the verb “to bind, put under obligation”.

  38. proclamatio

    140–180

    It is formed from Latin prōclāmō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to cry out”.

  39. substitutio

    140–180

    It is formed from Latin substituō (“to put in place of another”) + -tiō.

  40. syndicus

    140–180

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σύνδικος (súndikos, “advocate”), formed from σύν (sún, “together”) and δίκη (díkē, “justice, right”). As an adjective the Greek word meant “belonging jointly to”…

  41. transcriptio

    140–180

    It is from Latin trānscrībō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to copy out; to transfer in writing”. The verb is formed with trāns- on scrībō (“to write”), which de Vaan traces to…

  42. dramaticus

    150–199

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek δραματικός (dramatikós, “dramatic, of plays”). The Greek adjective is formed from δρᾶμα (drâma, “deed, action; play”).

  43. fraxo

    150–199

    The origin is uncertain. The OLD compares, with a perhaps, Ancient Greek φράσσω (phrássō). Georges reports Bugge's derivation from frangō (“to break”) through its participle ⟨frāctus⟩, formed as…

  44. groma

    150–199

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek γνώμων (gnṓmōn), the name Festus says the Greeks gave to the instrument. The TLL holds that the Etruscans borrowed the Greek word first and the Romans took it from…

  45. hirrio

    150–199

    It is imitative, a word for a sound. The TLL compares other imitative words such as German girren.

  46. inaccessibilis

    150–200

    It is from Latin in- (“not”) + accessibilis (“approachable”).

  47. miniscor

    150–199

    The origin is uncertain. The OLD and the TLL connect it with meminī, and the TLL refers to comminīscor for more. De Vaan considers the forms given by Festus, ⟨minīscī⟩ and ⟨mentus⟩, untrustworthy…

  48. oscillo

    150–200

    It is from Latin ōscillum (“swing”) + -ō. The OLD calls the origin of this noun unknown, unless it developed from its homonym meaning “little face”, a diminutive of ōs “mouth, face”, used of masks…

  49. parenthesis

    150–199

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek παρένθεσις (parénthesis, “insertion”), literally a putting in beside, from παρα- (para-, “beside”) and ἐν (en, “in”) and a form of the verb for to put.

  50. puro

    150–199

    It is from Latin pūrus (“clean, pure”) + -ō; the OLD compares impūrātus (“filthy”). The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *pūro- (“pure”) and Proto-Indo-European *ph₂ú-ro- (“clear, cleansed”).

  51. regimentum

    150–199

    It is from Latin regō (“to direct, rule”) + -mentum, a post-classical extension of regimen. De Vaan reconstructs the verb as Proto-Italic *reg-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o- (“to…

  52. tudes

    150–200

    It is from Latin tundō (“to strike, beat”), formed on its root ⟨tud-⟩ with the suffix -ēs. The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *(s)tund- and Proto-Indo-European *(s)tu-n-d- (“to thrust”), the root of…

  53. zeta

    150–200

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta, “zeta”), the name of the Greek letter.

  54. abominatio

    160–220

    It is an action noun from Latin abōminor (“to deprecate as an ill omen, abhor”), with the suffix -tiō. The verb is formed from ab and ōmen.

  55. acceptabilis

    160–220

    It is from Latin acceptō (“to receive, accept”) + -bilis, an adjective of the later language.

  56. accessibilis

    160–220

    It is from Latin accēdō (“to approach”) + -bilis, formed on the participle stem ⟨access-⟩ of the verb; Wiktionary connects it with the noun accessus (“approach, entrance”).

  57. adhaerentia

    160–220

    It is from Latin adhaerēns + -ia, from the present participle of adhaereō (“to cling to”).

  58. aeon

    160–220

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn, “age, eternity”). The Greek word goes back to Proto-Hellenic *aiwṓn and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force, life”).

  59. alba

    160–220

    It is from Latin albus (“white”), its feminine used as a noun, with a word for a tunic or garment understood.

  60. alleluia

    160–220

    It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa), which is from Biblical Hebrew הַלְּלוּיָהּ (halləlūyɔh, “praise Jah”), made of הַלְּלוּ (halləlū, “praise!”) and יָהּ (yɔh), a short form of…

All Latin words by century →