Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is from Latin deus (“god”), its feminine: Old Latin ⟨deiva⟩ is from Proto-Italic *deiwā, the feminine of *deiwo-, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god”). Oscan has deívaí (“to the goddess”).

It is from Latin magis (“more”) + -ter, a contrastive formation meaning “he who is greater”, the counterpart of minister “he who is lesser”. Magis is the comparative of the root Proto-Indo-European…

It is the shortened form from Latin atque, used before consonants. The origin of the full form is disputed: de Vaan prefers from Latin at + -que, the OLD ⟨ad-⟩ + ⟨-que⟩.

It is a univerbation from Latin ad (“to”) + fatim, ⟨fatim⟩ being, “to one's fill”, from a noun Proto-Italic *fati- (“exhaustion”) that survives only in this word. The same noun underlies fatīgō (“to…

It is from Latin altus (“high, deep”), its neuter used as a noun. Lewis & Short treat altus as the participle of alō (“to nourish”). The rare adverb meaning “deeply” is its accusative.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *alto- (“high”). In form it is the perfect participle of alere “to nourish”, so that the OLD, Lewis and Short and Wiktionary take it as “grown tall” from…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *an, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en (“there, on the other side”). De Vaan compares Gothic 𐌰𐌽 (an, “so? now?”), Lithuanian angu (“or”) and Old Prussian…

It is a diminutive from Latin ancula, the feminine of anculus (“servant”). De Vaan explains that ⟨anculus⟩ survived only in religious language and glosses; it was felt as a diminutive ⟨anc-ulus⟩…

The origin is uncertain. It is never used in compounds or as an adverb, which may point to a recent origin from a noun phrase. The OLD and de Vaan consider a link with apiō (“to tie”), perhaps an…

It is from Latin argentum (“silver”) + -eus. De Vaan derives ⟨argentum⟩ from Proto-Italic *argento- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂rǵ-nt-o- (“silver”), cognate with Oscan aragetud (“money”), Old Irish…

De Vaan reconstructs it as inherited from Proto-Italic *armnto- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-mn̥-to-, from the root *h₂er- (“to join, fit”); the OLD analyses it as that root and the suffix -mentum…

It is from Latin arvus (“ploughed, arable”), its neuter, used as a noun. De Vaan takes the adjective as primary, from Proto-Italic *arawo- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃-wo- (“ploughable”), from…

It is formed from Latin ad- (“to”) + scandō (“to climb”). De Vaan traces scandō to Proto-Italic *skand-e/o- (“to ascend”) and Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump up, ascend”), cognate with Old…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas). Köbler, following Frisk, says that its further origin is unclear.

It is a compound with the enclitic -que “and”, but the first part is disputed. De Vaan thinks from Latin at + -que more likely, since a compound with ad would be expected to keep or restore ⟨ad⟩…

It is formed from Latin aurum (“gold”) + -eus. aurum goes back to Proto-Italic *auso-, and Driessen reconstructs a reduplicated Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- (“glow”).

It is formed from Latin aut (from its base) with a particle ⟨-em⟩, as in item and quidem: ⟨*auti⟩ + ⟨-m⟩. De Vaan considers the ⟨-em⟩ either the particle of īdem and ⟨item⟩ or the regular outcome of…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kō, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”) (accusative ⟨*ḱwon-m̥⟩, genitive ⟨*ḱun-os⟩). The ablative ⟨cane⟩ and genitive plural ⟨canum⟩ show an old…

It is formed from Latin capiō (“to take”) + -essō. De Vaan explains it from ⟨*kap-i-ss-⟩, as the form ⟨capissam⟩ shows; he traces ⟨capiō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kapi- (“to seize”) and to…

It is apparently a Gaulish word, probably borrowed from Gaulish carbantos, from Proto-Celtic *karbantos (“chariot, war chariot”). The TLL considers the Gaulish origin likely if the town names…

1. The verb meaning “to raise oneself” is inherited from Proto-Italic *kelne/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kel-n-H- (“to rise”), with the participle Proto-Italic *k(e)lto-. De Vaan gives…

The origin is unknown. The suffix is that of culex and pūlex. The OLD and Georges compare Sanskrit words for “dark grey”, and Pokorny connected it with words for “black, dark” such as Sanskrit श्याव…

It is from Latin con- + frangō (“to break”). frangō goes back to Proto-Italic *frang- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *bʰr-n-ǵ- (“to break”).

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κόθορνος (kóthornos). Köbler takes the Greek word itself for a loanword, perhaps from Lydian.

It is an old superlative from Latin dē (“down from”), like prīmus and īmus, meaning “last, farthest”, with the neuter used as an adverb. De Vaan traces dē to the particle Proto-Indo-European *de…

It is from Latin dē- (“off”) + tergeō (“to wipe”). De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *terg- for tergeō and finds no certain cognates outside Italic; a link with a Sanskrit verb meaning to crush is…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dō-ne-kʷom, beside *dō-ne-kʷe, the source of dōnec. The first part is the instrumental *dō (“to this, until”) of the particle Proto-Indo-European *de (“here”)…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dū̆smo-. Livius Andronicus has an older adjective ⟨dusmo⟩, which the epitome of Festus by Paul the Deacon explains by dūmōsus (“bushy”). De Vaan's only certain…

1. The suffix for adjectives of material is inherited from Proto-Italic *-eos, which Wiktionary traces to Proto-Indo-European *-e- with *-yós. According to Weiss, its Indo-European parent already…

The origin is uncertain. Walde and, hesitantly, Pokorny reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *dʰH- (“to vanish, dwindle”), linking it with fatīgō (“to tire”), fessus (“weary”), Old Irish ded- (“to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *gelus, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵel-u- (“cold, frost, ice”). De Vaan notes that by regular sound change the word should have become ⟨golu-⟩, and assumes…

De Vaan reconstructs it as inherited from Proto-Italic *χastā- and thinks it probably not of Indo-European origin: with Middle Irish gat (“osier, withe”), Middle Irish gass (“twig, branch”), Gothic…

The origin is uncertain. Eichner reads ⟨hauelod⟩ on the Forum inscription as the ablative of an adjective ⟨*haued-o-⟩ “false, lacking”, which he derives from ⟨*gʰou̯-i-dʰó-⟩ and the root…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *iþei (“there”), from the pronominal stem Proto-Indo-European *h₁i- of is with a locative suffix. De Vaan notes that the suffix may be ⟨*-bʰei⟩, like the…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *īke/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂i-h₂iḱ-e/o- (“to hit, pierce”). Cognate with Ancient Greek αἰχμή (aikhmḗ, “spear point”), Lithuanian iẽšmas (“spit…

It is from Latin is, the pronoun, with an enclitic particle ⟨-em⟩: the neuter ⟨id-em⟩ was misdivided as ⟨i-dem⟩, and ⟨-dem⟩ was then added to the other forms (⟨eadem⟩, ⟨eundem⟩). Old Latin ⟨*isdem⟩…

It is formed from Latin in- (“not”) + nōbilis (“known, famous, noble”), the negative prefix. Leumann, followed by de Vaan, takes the negative form to be the older: it would be a derivative of a noun…

It is perhaps from Latin illic (“that”), an old instrumental case form of the pronoun. Wiktionary likewise takes it as an instrumental of ille (“that”) with the particle -ce, and compares hōc beside…

It is formed from Latin in- (“not”) + pius (“dutiful, pious”). De Vaan derives pius from Proto-Italic *pwījo-, from Proto-Indo-European *puH-io- (“purifying”); the steps from that form to the Latin…

It is formed from Latin in- + cēdō (“to go, give way”). De Vaan follows Lubotsky in tracing cēdō to Proto-Italic *kesd-e/o- (“to go away”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱyesdʰ- (“to drive away; to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *n̥ter (“between”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”), an adverb of place derived from *h₁en (“in”) (see in). The related adjective in…

It is formed from Latin inter (“between, during”) + eā, the feminine ablative singular of is (“this, that”). It is built like anteā and posteā.

It is from Latin lac (“milk”) + -eus. De Vaan takes lac to be cognate with Ancient Greek γάλα (gála, “milk”); he rejects Leumann's view that it was borrowed from Greek. Wiktionary notes that the…

De Vaan follows Steinbauer in taking it as a verb from Latin lībum (“sacrificial cake”), “to make a sacrificial cake”, from Proto-Italic *leifo- (“sacrificial cake”) and Proto-Indo-European…

The origin is unknown. Wiktionary takes the form ⟨lunter⟩ to be the older one, and compares Ancient Greek λιντήρ (lintḗr). The traditional derivation is from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to wash”)…

It is a verb made from a noun ⟨*lita⟩, which de Vaan thinks was probably borrowed from Ancient Greek λιτή (litḗ, “prayer, request”), from a variant ⟨*λιτᾱ⟩; he compares λίσσομαι (líssomai, “to pray…

According to de Vaan it is inherited from Proto-Italic *loid-e/o- (“to play”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *loid- (“to let go often, play”), an o-grade present with frequentative sense, as…

It is formed from Latin lūstrum (“purification”) + -ō, the verb suffix. The origin of the noun is disputed: Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny derived it from the root of lūx (“light”), as “illumination”…

De Vaan derives it from Proto-Italic *mākero- (“soaked, kneaded”), an adjective, also behind māceria (“wall”), "wall of kneaded clay". The meaning would suit Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ǵ- (“to…

It is from Latin male (“badly”) + -ficus (“doing”), belonging with malefaciō (“to do wrong”). Quintilian cites it as a compound that grew together out of two bodies.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mātēr, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”). De Vaan takes the Indo-European word as a derivative in *-ter- of the nursery form *ma “mum”…

It is the frequentative from Latin minor (“to threaten”) + -itō. De Vaan derives ⟨minor⟩ from minae (“threats”), from Proto-Italic *menā- (“part that sticks out”), with a development from…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nām, the accusative singular feminine of a pronominal stem ⟨*no-⟩ “that”, formed like tam and quam. De Vaan and the TLL trace the stem to *h₂en- (“that”), found in…

It is a compound from Latin ne- + homō (“man”), in an old form, from ⟨*nehemo⟩. The second part is the archaic ⟨hemō⟩, which Festus records as an old word for “man”, and the TLL, following de Vaan…

It is from Latin neque (“not”) + eō (“to go”). The OLD and the TLL derive it from an impersonal phrase ⟨neque it⟩ or ⟨neque itur⟩, “it does not go, it cannot be done”, which became the personal verb…

De Vaan, following Meiser, explains it as ⟨*nimīs⟩, shortened by iambic shortening, from ⟨*ne meis⟩ “not too little, quite a lot”: the negation nē with an adverb Proto-Italic *meis of an adjective…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nosteros (“our”), formed from nōs with the contrastive suffix ⟨*-tero-⟩. De Vaan tentatively reconstructs a PIE possessive *n̥s-tero-. Compare Ancient Greek…

It is from Proto-Italic *ne oinolos (“not a little one”), from the negative ne- and a diminutive of ūnus (“one”) (older ⟨oinos⟩), from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). ūllus (“any”) is probably a…

It is formed from Latin ne- + umquam, “not ever”. De Vaan explains umquam as probably ⟨*kʷum⟩, a remodelled form of the accusative Proto-Indo-European *kʷom (“when”) (see cum), with the suffix…

It is from Latin ob- + sacrō (“to make sacred, consecrate”), like exsecror: “to ask on religious grounds”. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of sacer (“sacred”), from Proto-Italic *sakro- and…