Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ, “drachma”); Wiktionary takes it from the Doric form δραχμά (drakhmá). Köbler and Etymonline explain the Greek word as originally “a handful”, a…

It is from Latin dūcō (“to lead”) + -tō, a frequentative. De Vaan derives all the forms in ⟨duct-⟩ from the participle ⟨ductus⟩, and traces dūcō to Proto-Italic *douk-e- and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin dūcō (“to lead, draw”) + -tus, a fourth-declension action noun. De Vaan traces dūcō to Proto-Italic *douk-e- and Proto-Indo-European *deuk-e/o- (“to draw”). Cognate with Middle…

It is formed from a root ⟨dū-⟩ “long (time)”, which also gives dūrus (“hard, lasting”), and the enclitic, from Latin -dum. De Vaan traces the root to Proto-Indo-European *dweh₂- (“far, long”)…

It is from Latin dum (“while, as long as”) + modo (“only”). The adverb modo is a derivative of modus (“measure”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *medo- (“measure, judgement”) and…

It is formed from Latin dum (“while, as long as”) + taxat, probably a subjunctive of an old verb ⟨*taxō⟩ from tangō (“to touch”), like vīsō (“to visit”) beside ⟨videō⟩; so roughly “as far as it…

It is a compound from Latin duo (“two”) + dē (“from”) + vīgintī (“twenty”), that is, “two from twenty”. Paulus' epitome of Festus says that the Romans took this way of counting from the Greeks. The…

It is from Latin duplex + -ter, the adverb of duplex (“double”). De Vaan takes duplex as the model of the compounds in -plex, with ⟨du-⟩ from duo (“two”), and traces it to Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin duplex (“double, twofold”) + -ō. De Vaan notes that duplex is one of the compounds in which Latin replaced the old prefix *dwi- with du-, from duo (“two”), which he traces to…

It is from Latin dūrus (“hard”) + -itia. De Vaan traces dūrus to Proto-Italic *dūro- and Proto-Indo-European *du(e)h₂-ro- (“far, long”), comparing Ancient Greek δηρός (dērós, “long”); Etymonline…

The suffix is inherited from Proto-Italic *-ēd, Old Latin ⟨-ēd⟩, seen in ⟨facilumed⟩ and ⟨rected⟩, and shared with Sabellic: Oscan amprufid answers to improbē and Umbrian rehte to rēctē. Wiktionary…

It is the form of ex “out of” used before consonants. De Vaan explains ⟨ē-⟩ from ⟨*egz-⟩, the variant of ⟨*eks⟩ before voiced consonants (⟨b d g l m n r⟩ and consonantal ⟨i u⟩). The preposition is…

It is from Latin ex- + bibō (“to drink”). De Vaan traces bibō to Proto-Italic *pibe/o- and the reduplicated present Proto-Indo-European *pi-ph₃-e/o- (“to drink”), and dates the compound from Plautus.

It is a foreign word, probably borrowed from Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory”), perhaps through a Demotic form. The TLL also compares the Coptic word for “elephant”, and Lewis and Short connect…

It is from Latin ebur (“ivory”) + -nus. For ebur the OLD compares Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory”), and Wiktionary takes it as a loanword, probably through Demotic, from that Egyptian word, perhaps…

It is a compound from Latin ē + Castor, the interjection and the name, “by Castor”, made like edepol “by Pollux”.

It is probably formed from Latin ec- + -ce, the deictic particle also found in hic. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *ek + Proto-Italic *ke: the pronoun Proto-Indo-European *h₁e- (“he”) of is…

The OLD explains it as from Latin ecce (“behold”) + *hum, the second part probably an old accusative, that is hunc (“this one”). Walde and Hofmann likewise derive the forms from ecce with forms of…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (ekhînos, “hedgehog, sea urchin”). Köbler connects the Greek word with the Indo-European word for “snake”, as a name of the snake-eater.

It is from Latin ec- + quis (“who?”). De Vaan explains the particle ⟨ec-⟩, as in ecce (“look!”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁e- (“he”) extended with ⟨*k⟩, as in Oscan ekúk (“this”). The TLL reports…

It is from Latin edō (“to eat”) + -āx. De Vaan traces edō to Proto-Italic *ed- (“to eat”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”), comparing Oscan edum (“to eat”), Sanskrit अद्मि (ádmi, “I eat”)…

It is made from Latin ē, the interjection (as in ēcastor (“by Castor!”)), a shortened ⟨de⟩ that is probably the vocative ⟨deive⟩ of dīvus (“god”), and pol, the shortened vocative of Pollūx…

It is from Latin ex- (“thoroughly”) + discō (“to learn”). De Vaan traces discō to Proto-Italic *dikske/o- and Proto-Indo-European *di-dḱ-sḱ-e/o- (“to take, accept”), a reduplicated present with an…

It is from Latin ex- + disserō (“to set out in words, discuss”). The simple verb is formed with dis- from serō (“to join, link”), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ser-e/o- (“to thread, tie…

It is from Latin ex- + doceō (“to teach”). The verb doceō goes back to Proto-Italic *dok-eje- and Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-eie- (“to make someone accept something”). Cognate with Hittite dākki…

It is from Latin ex- + flō (“to blow, breathe”). De Vaan tentatively traces flō to Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to blow”), and thinks it may be related to fleō (“to weep”).

It is from Latin ex- + fodiō (“to dig”). The verb fodiō goes back to Proto-Italic *foþ-i- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰodʰ-i- (“to poke, dig”). Cognate with Hittite padda- (“to dig”) and Lithuanian…

It is from Latin ex- + frangō (“to break”). De Vaan traces frangō to Proto-Italic *frang- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *bʰr-n-ǵ- (“to break”), comparing Old High German brehhan (“to…

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + fundō (“to pour”). De Vaan derives fundō from Proto-Italic *χund-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰu-n-d- (“to pour”), a nasal present of the root of Ancient…

It is from Latin egeō (“to lack, need”), its present participle, used as an adjective. De Vaan traces ⟨egeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *egē- (“to lack”), beside an s-stem noun Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-es-…

It is an interjection that the OLD and the TLL compare with hem. Köbler, after Pokorny, groups it with eheu and eho under a reconstructed interjection Proto-Indo-European *ehem.

It is an expressive cry, related to heu (“alas”). Wiktionary compares Sanskrit अहो (aho), a comparison that once led scholars to assume an Indo-European origin. Köbler refers it to Pokorny's…

It is an interjection, for which the OLD and Lewis & Short give no etymology. Köbler groups it with the interjection Proto-Indo-European *ē.

It is an exclamation of grief, which the OLD compares with Ancient Greek αἴ (aí, “ah!”). Köbler sets it beside a reconstructed interjection Proto-Indo-European *ēi (Pokorny 297).

It is formed from Latin ei “ah!”, the interjection, with the suffix shaped after iūbilō (“to shout for joy”). Lewis & Short derive it from the exclamations hei and heu, and the grammarian…

It is from Latin ex- + iūrō (“to swear”). The TLL leaves open whether the variant ⟨ēierō⟩ is the same word or related to it by vowel alternation, as with dēierō and pēierō. De Vaan derives iūrō from…

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + lābor (“to slip, glide”). De Vaan doubts the usual link of ⟨lābor⟩ with labō (“to totter”), since the vowel alternation is hard to explain, and leaves ⟨lābor⟩…

It is from Latin *ēlegāre (“to choose carefully”), the participle of this unattested verb, related to ēligō (“to pick out, choose”). Wiktionary derives that verb from an intermediate noun *ēlegus…

It is from Latin ēlegāns (“tasteful, refined”) + -ia. De Vaan explains ēlegāns from a verb *ex-legāre, alone among the compounds of legō (“to collect, choose”) in having that form, and traces legō…

It is from Latin ex- + *lixus (“fluid, flowing”), built like prōlixus; its first meaning must have been “boiling out”. The simple adjective is unattested, but its feminine survives as the noun lixa…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἑλλέβορος (helléboros, “hellebore”). Köbler, following Frisk, connects its first part with Ancient Greek ἐλλός (ellós, “young deer”). The native Latin name of the…

It is apparently borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐλεγεῖον (elegeîon, “elegiac distich, verse inscription”), reshaped under the influence of λόγος (lógos, “word”) or of ēloquium, or reanalysed as ē-…

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + loquor (“to speak”). De Vaan traces ⟨loquor⟩ to Proto-Italic *(t)lokʷe- and Proto-Indo-European *tlokʷ- (“to talk”), cognate with Old Irish ad·tluchedar (“gives…

It is formed from Latin ex- (“out”) + lūdō (“to play”). De Vaan derives ⟨lūdō⟩ from Proto-Italic *loid-e/o- (“to play”) and Proto-Indo-European *loid- (“to let go often, play”), cognate with Ancient…

It is probably a shortened imperative from Latin emō (“to take”), originally “take!”. De Vaan derives the imperative ⟨*eme⟩ from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-e/o- (“to take”), cognate with Umbrian…

It is from Latin ex- + mentior (“to lie”). De Vaan explains mentior as a verb made from Proto-Italic *mn̥ti-, the noun that became mēns (“mind”), from Proto-Indo-European *mn-ti- (“thought, mind”)…

It is from Latin ex- + mereō (“to earn, serve”). De Vaan traces mereō to Proto-Italic *mer-ē- (“to earn”) and, with a question mark, Proto-Indo-European *(s)mr-eh₁- (“to earn”), and finds its…

Used as an adjective, it is the perfect participle from Latin ēmereō (“to serve out, earn”), also of the deponent ēmereor. The verb is from Latin ex- + mereō (“to earn”), and de Vaan records it from…

It is from Latin ex- (“out”) + micō (“to dart, flash”). De Vaan traces micō to Proto-Italic *mikaje- and Proto-Indo-European *mikH-(e)ie- (“to blink”): the basic Latin meaning is to dart or move…

The OLD derives it from Latin ēmolō (“to grind out”) + -mentum, originally probably “the output of a mill”; the TLL, following Walde, explains it as what the miller gets by grinding, and Döderlein…

It is from Latin ex- + morior (“to die”). De Vaan traces morior to Proto-Italic *morje- (“to die”) and Proto-Indo-European *mr-ie/o- (“to die”), comparing Sanskrit म्रियते (mriyáte, “to die”)…

It is formed from Latin emō (“to buy”) + -tor. De Vaan derives ⟨emō⟩ from Proto-Italic *eme/o- (“to take”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-e/o- (“to take”), so that buying was first taking. Cognate…

It is from Latin ex- + *mungō, a compound of a simple verb that is not attested on its own. De Vaan traces the stem to Proto-Italic *mung- (“to wipe”) and Proto-Indo-European *(s)mu-n-k- (“to brush…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan holds that at least part of the Latin uses, especially from Virgil on, are the identical interjection Ancient Greek ἤν (ḗn, “look!”), which the OLD also gives. For…

It is from Latin ex- + narrō (“to tell”). De Vaan lists it, with the simple verb, among the derivatives of gnārus (“knowing”); the simple verb lost the ⟨g-⟩ that the adjective kept on the model of…

It is from Latin ex- (“out, completely”) + necō (“to kill”). De Vaan lists it, beside the simple verb, among the derivatives of nex (“death, violent death”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *nek-…

It is from Latin enim (“indeed”) + vērō (“truly”). De Vaan traces enim to Proto-Italic *enim, an accusative of the pronoun Proto-Italic *eno- (“that one”), and Proto-Indo-European *h₁e-no-…

It is from Latin ex- (“out”) + nītor (“to lean, strive”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of nītor, which he reconstructs as Proto-Italic *kniχw-et- and connects with cōnīveō (“to be tightly…

It is from Latin ēnīxus (“strenuous”) with the adverb ending -ē. That adjective is the participle of ēnītor (“to struggle, strive”), a compound of ex- and nītor (“to lean, strive”), which de Vaan…

It is from Latin ex- + nō (“to swim”). De Vaan traces nō to Proto-Italic *(s)nāje/o- (“to swim”) and Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to swim, float”). Cognate with Old Irish snaïd (“to swim”) and…