Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century BC

It is from Latin ad- + rēpō (“to creep”), “to creep towards”.

It is from Latin asper (“rough”) + -tās. The origin of asper is uncertain: a derivation from ⟨*ab-sper-o-⟩ “repulsive” is unsupported, and Melchert proposes a root Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp- (“to…

It is from Latin asper (“rough”) + -ō. The origin of asper is uncertain. De Vaan finds the old derivation from a compound meaning “rejecting” gratuitous, and reports Melchert's root…

It is from Latin ad- + testor (“to bear witness”). The simple verb is made from testis (“witness”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *trito-sth₂-o- (“third standing by”).

It is from Latin ad- + tribuō (“to divide, bestow”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of tribus (“division of the people, tribe”), from Varro on; he reconstructs that noun as Proto-Italic…

It is from Latin attribuō (“to assign”), its neuter past participle, used as a noun.

It is from Latin avicella (“little bird”), contracted; that is a diminutive of avis (“bird”). The TLL instead derives it from auca (“bird, goose”), as a diminutive, while de Vaan thinks ⟨auca⟩ is…

It is from Latin augeō (“to increase”) + -mentum. The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *augejō and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“to grow, increase”).

It is usually explained as a compound from Latin aureae (“reins”) + agō (“to drive”), with the root of the verb, “one who drives with the reins”. De Vaan notes that ⟨aureae⟩, found once in Festus…

It is from Latin aurīga (“charioteer”) + -ō. Varro uses a deponent form, ⟨aurīgor⟩.

It is from Latin auspicor (“to take the auspices”), its participle used as an adjective. De Vaan lists ⟨auspicārī⟩ with auspex (“augur”) among the derivatives of avis (“bird”).

It is from Latin avis (“bird”) + -cula.

It is a compound from Latin bi- (“two”) + penna (“feather, wing”) + -is, the adjective ending; the noun stands for a two-edged axe, with secūris (“axe”) understood. The TLL thinks two adjectives…

It is probably onomatopoeic, imitating the owl's call /buː/. Similar names for the owl occur in other Indo-European languages, such as Ancient Greek βύας (búas, “eagle-owl”) and Old Armenian բու…

It is formed from Latin bōs (“ox, cow”), but how is not clear. The OLD and Wiktionary suggest it is from Latin bōs + -ētum (“place of”), with the ⟨c⟩ taken over by false analogy from words such as…

The OLD takes it as probably ⟨*bou-canā⟩, from Latin bōs (“ox, cow”) + canō (“to sing, play”), and Köbler and Wiktionary give the same parts. De Vaan traces bōs to Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃-u-s…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek καρύκειον (karúkeion, “herald's staff”), the Doric form of κηρύκειον (kērúkeion), with ⟨d⟩ in place of ⟨r⟩. Lewis & Short give the form as Aeolic καρύκιον…

It is from Latin calvus (“bald”) + -āria. The TLL derives it from calva (“bald head; scalp”) or from the adjective, and de Vaan lists it, with calva, among the derivatives of calvus. The adjective…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κάναστρον (kánastron, “basket of reeds”). Beekes lists the Greek word, with the variants κάνιστρον (kánistron) and κάνυστρον (kánustron), among the derivatives of…

1. The “she-goat” is from Latin caper (“he-goat”) + -la, a diminutive, though Wiktionary and the TLL make it the diminutive of the feminine capra (“she-goat”), as the grammarians Scaurus and…

It is from Latin capra (“she-goat”), itself from caper (“he-goat”). De Vaan traces caper to Proto-Italic *kapro- (“he-goat”) and thinks a loanword more likely than an inherited word, since no single…

The OLD takes it as borrowed from Ancient Greek καστόρειον (kastóreion), the Greek name of the substance, formed from κάστωρ (kástōr, “beaver”). Georges, VOLI and Wiktionary instead derive it within…

Its origin is uncertain. It may be a diminutive from Ancient Greek κασᾶς (kasâs, “horse blanket”): so Georges, while Köbler takes it from the Greek word and calls that an oriental loanword…

It is formed from Latin cavus (“hollow”) + -erna, after the model of cisterna, taberna and lanterna. De Vaan traces cavus to Proto-Italic *kawo- and Proto-Indo-European *ḱowH-ó- (“hollow”)…

It is a diminutive, from Latin cēna (“dinner”) + -ula. De Vaan traces cēna to Proto-Italic *kert(e)snā- (“meal”) and Proto-Indo-European *kert-s-nh2- (“portion”), a cut part that came to mean a meal.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κερασός (kerasós, “cherry tree”). The Greek word is thought to come from Asia Minor: Wiktionary and Etymonline, citing Beekes, take it to be probably Anatolian…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χορεία (khoreía, “round dance”). The Greek word is from χορός (khorós, “dance, chorus”), which Köbler traces to Pokorny's root ⟨*ǵʰer-⟩ “to grasp”.

It is from Latin cingō (“to gird, surround”) + -ulum. The origin of cingō itself is uncertain: de Vaan doubts the comparison with Lithuanian kinkýti (“to bridle horses”), which would need a root…

It is formed from Latin circumeō (“to go round”) + -tus, the suffix of action nouns. De Vaan lists it under eō (“to go”), from Proto-Italic *ei- and Proto-Indo-European *h1ei- (“to go”).

It is from Latin cista (“box, chest”) + -erna, with the ending of caverna (“cave”). The base is a borrowing of Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “box”). The TLL thinks that Umbrian cisterno “cistern” was…

It is a comparative, from Latin citer (“on this side, nearer”), which is itself formed on cis (“on this side of”). De Vaan says that the older series was ⟨cis⟩, ⟨citer⟩, ⟨citimus⟩, and that…

It is probably borrowed from Ancient Greek κέδρος (kédros, “juniper berry, cedar cone”), with the Latin change of /dr/ to /tr/. De Vaan points out that the first vowels do not match, so there may…

It is from Latin con- + acervō (“to heap up”), from acervus (“heap”). The origin of that noun is uncertain: Rix connects it with acus (“chaff”) through a pre-Italic *akesuo-, which de Vaan finds…

It is from Latin coagmentum (“joint”) + -ō. That noun is made from cōgō (“to collect, gather”) with ⟨-mentum⟩; Wiktionary notes that the verb comes from ⟨co(n)-⟩ and agō (“to drive”), which may…

It is formed from Latin cōgitō (“to think, consider”) + -tiō. cōgitō is con- and agitō (“to set in motion, turn over in the mind”), the frequentative of agō (“to drive, do”); Varro already explained…

It is from Latin collis (“hill”) + -īnus. The noun goes back to Proto-Italic *kolni- and Proto-Indo-European *kolH-n- (“hill”), from the root *klH- (“to lift”). De Vaan compares Ancient Greek κολώνη…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κόμμα (kómma, “clause; stamp, coin”), a noun from κόπτω (kóptō, “to strike, cut”), so that it means literally a piece cut off. Etymonline traces the verb perhaps to…

It is from Latin compendiārius (“short (of routes)”), the feminine of the adjective used as a noun with via (“road”) understood. The adjective is from Latin compendium (“saving; shortening”) + -ārius.

It is from Latin com- + pendō (“to weigh”), “to weigh together”. De Vaan lists it among the compounds of pendō, which goes back to Proto-Italic *pend-e/o- (“to hang”) and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin con- + petītor (“candidate, seeker”). petītor comes from petō (“to seek”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *pet-e/o-, explaining its sense as a shift from flying to flying…

1. The participle is from Latin comprimō (“to press together”), its perfect passive participle, used as an adjective; the verb is formed from con- and premō (“to press”). 2. The noun is from Latin…

It is from Latin computō (“to calculate, reckon”) + -tiō. De Vaan lists computō among the derivatives of putō, from Plautus on; he takes putus (“pure, clean”) to be the base of the family, so that…

It is formed from Latin con- + dēnsō (“to thicken”), the verb being from Latin dēnsus (“dense, thick”); the TLL allows a derivation from either the adjective or the verb.

It is from Latin con- + farciō (“to stuff, cram”). De Vaan lists ⟨confercīre⟩ “to pack closely together” among the derivatives of the simple verb, which goes back to Proto-Italic *fark-je- (“to…

It is from Latin con- (“together, with”) + fīnis (“boundary”). De Vaan calls the etymology of fīnis disputed: Walde and Hofmann reconstruct ⟨*fīg-s-ni-⟩ “driven in”, of a boundary post, and it might…

It is from Latin congiārius (“of a congius”), its neuter, used as a noun, from congius, a liquid measure of six sextarii. The OLD compares Ancient Greek κόγχος (kónkhos, “mussel shell”), and…

It is from Latin con- + grex (“flock, herd”), with the verb ending ⟨-ō⟩, as aggregō is formed with ad-. The noun grex goes back to Proto-Italic *gʷreg- and Proto-Indo-European *gʷreg- (“group…

It is from Latin coniūnx (“spouse”) + -ālis according to the OLD and the TLL; Wiktionary instead derives it from coniugō (“to join in marriage”). The noun is a compound of con- with the root of…

It is from Latin coniungō (“to join together”) + -tiō. De Vaan lists it under iungō (“to join, yoke”), from the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *(H)iu-n-g- (“to yoke”), cognate with Sanskrit…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κωνωπεῖον (kōnōpeîon, “bed with a mosquito net”), which the OLD gives as κωνώπιον (kōnṓpion); the Greek word is made from κώνωψ (kṓnōps, “gnat, mosquito”). Isidore…

It is from Latin continuus (“uninterrupted”) + -tās. The adjective is one of the derivatives that de Vaan lists under teneō (“to hold”), beside contineō (“to hold together”).

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *korno- (“cornel cherry, cherry”), to which de Vaan traces it together with the tree name cornus. Wiktionary and the OLD treat it as the neuter fruit name beside…

It is from Latin corpus (“body”) + -eus. De Vaan traces corpus to Proto-Italic *korp-os- and Proto-Indo-European *ḱrp-os- (“body”), with cognates in Avestan kəhrp- (“figure, body”) and Old English…

It is from Latin costa (“rib, side”) + -ātus (“provided with”). De Vaan treats the base as an isolated word of unknown origin, going back to Proto-Italic *ko(n/r)stā-; he considers a link with…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κρυπτή (kruptḗ), the feminine of κρυπτός (kruptós, “hidden”), an adjective of the verb “to hide”.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos, “die, cube”). Pokorny and Köbler connect the Greek word with Proto-Indo-European *keub- (“to bend”), the root they also see in cubitum “elbow” and…

It is probably a loanword. De Vaan compares cucumis (“cucumber”), which begins with the same ⟨cucu-⟩ and has a similar meaning; Etymonline also suggests a source outside Indo-European and a link…

It is perhaps borrowed from Iberian, as Pliny the Elder's report on rabbits in Spain suggests; Lewis & Short call it Spanish. Wiktionary suggests an Iberian or Celtiberian word with the Latin…

The OLD compares cuppēs (“fond of delicacies”) and cupīdō (“desire”), and Lewis and Short take it to be at first a collateral form of ⟨cupīdō⟩. Wiktionary gives both explanations: a formation on…

The origin is uncertain. Szemerényi explained it as ⟨*kuri-spid-⟩, a compound of curis (“spear”) and an Italic noun ⟨*spis⟩ “lance”, related to Old High German spiz (“spit, point”) and Old English…