Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is the comparative of an unattested positive ⟨*ōcis⟩ “swift”, inherited from Proto-Italic *ōk-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱ-ios- (“quicker”), from *h₁oh₁ḱ-u- (“quick”). Cognate…

The OLD and the TLL derive it from Latin opitulus, a cult title, while Lewis & Short and Wiktionary analyse it as ops (“help, power”) joined to the root of tulī (“I carried”). De Vaan traces ops to…

It is formed from Latin optō (“to choose, wish”) + -bilis. De Vaan traces ⟨optō⟩ to Proto-Italic *opeje- (“to choose, grab”) and Proto-Indo-European *h1op-eie- (“to choose, grab”), cognate with…

It is formed from Latin ōrnō (“to equip, adorn”) + -mentum. De Vaan derives ōrnō from ⟨*ōrd-n-āre⟩, a verb made from ōrdō (“row, order”), which kept the special sense “to adorn”, while ōrdinō was…

The origin is disputed. De Vaan, following Keller and Weiss, takes it to be inherited from Proto-Italic *pe-arkō, with the prefix *h₂epo (“off”) and *h₂erk- (“to hold, guard”) (the root of arceō)…

It is from Latin pars (“part”), its old accusative singular, used as an adverb; the usual accusative is ⟨partem⟩. Schrijver explains pars as a pre-Latin formation Proto-Italic *parti- from the stem…

It is from Latin paucus (“few, little”), its masculine plural, used as a noun. paucus is from Proto-Italic *pauko- (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂u- (“few, small”); the same stem with other…

It is formed from Latin paveō (“to be frightened”) + -or. De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *pawē- (“to be frightened”) and Proto-Indo-European *pou-eh₁- (“to fear”), and follows Schrijver in…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pektos- (“breast”). Its likely cognate is Old Irish ucht (“breast, chest”), if that goes back to ⟨*pektu-⟩; a PIE source is uncertain. De Vaan rejects the old…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φαρέτρα (pharétra, “quiver”).

It is a shortened form from Latin Pollūx (from its name), the divine twin of Castor, used in oaths; the TLL allows that it may continue an older form of the name, and notes Wackernagel's view that…

1. The verb is formed from Latin por- (“forth”) + regō (“to direct, guide”). De Vaan traces ⟨regō⟩ to Proto-Italic *reg-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o- (“to stretch, direct”), cognate with…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *prai (“before”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i (“before”), perhaps a locative. Cognate with Oscan prai (“before”) and Umbrian pre (“before”), and with…

De Vaan explains it as a syncopated ⟨*praidikō⟩, ⟨*praedkō⟩, from Latin praedīcō (“to proclaim”), with its prefix and root; the OLD calls this a possibility, and the TLL also mentions ⟨*prae-vocō⟩…

1. Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin premō (“to press”). De Vaan traces that verb to Proto-Italic *pres- and Proto-Indo-European *pr-es- (“to press”), comparing Lithuanian…

It is from Latin prō- (“forth”) + for (“to speak”). De Vaan traces for to Proto-Italic *fā- (“to speak”) and Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- (“to speak”). Cognate with Ancient Greek φημί (phēmí, “I…

The origin is unknown. The oldest form is ⟨polcer⟩; ⟨u⟩ and the Hellenizing spelling ⟨ch⟩ are later. Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny derived it from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“speckled”) with…

It is from Latin pulcher (“beautiful”) + -ē. De Vaan finds no etymology for pulcher: an older spelling polcher is reported by Priscian and in inscriptions, the ⟨ch⟩ is a Hellenizing spelling, and…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Italic *pusl-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *plus- (“flea”), with the consonants transposed: ⟨pūl-⟩ would go back to ⟨*pusl-⟩, from ⟨*plus-⟩. The ending is…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πορφύρεος (porphúreos, “purple”), adapted to Latin, Wiktionary allows that it may instead be formed from purpura (“purple dye”) with -eus. The Greek word belongs to…

It is formed from Latin quam (“how, as”) + sī (“if”), run together as one word, with the vowels shortened.

It is the pronoun quis repeated, inherited from Proto-Italic *kʷiskʷis (“whoever”). Compare Oscan pispis (“whoever”) and Hittite kuiškuiš (“whoever”).

It is a univerbation from Latin quom (“when”) + iam (“now”), “when now”; it has three syllables. Wiktionary notes that the change of ⟨m⟩ to ⟨n⟩ before ⟨i⟩ may reflect a sound law also proposed for…

De Vaan derives it from ⟨*quō-que⟩, from Latin quō + -que, the ablative of the relative quī with the enclitic, with the first long vowel shortened before the enclitic, as in quasi. The OLD compares…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *saiwo- (“savage”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂i-wo-, from a root *sh₂ey- (“to rage, be in pain”). De Vaan suggests this root may be the same as…

The origin is uncertain. Wiktionary takes it to be probably borrowed from Etruscan 𐌔𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌄 (satre), and the OLD calls the god perhaps of Etruscan origin. Others derive the name from serō (“to sow”)…

The origin is uncertain: the OLD marks it doubtful and Köbler calls it unknown. De Vaan follows Vine, for whom it is inherited from Proto-Italic *(k)sawo- (“wound”), from Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin saxum (“rock, stone”) + -eus. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *saks-o- for saxum; it cannot come from the root of secō “to cut”, and a link with Old Norse sax and Old High German…

It is from Latin sē, the reflexive pronoun, in the old ablative ⟨sēd⟩, with the vowel shortened. De Vaan explains that ⟨*sēd⟩ first meant “by itself, for itself”, which became “however, but” in the…

It is from Latin speciō (“to look at”) + -iēs, a noun of the fifth declension formed on the verb of seeing, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to observe”). Lewis and Short and Georges…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek στρόφος (stróphos, “twisted band”), in a Latinised form, from στρέφω (stréphō, “to twist”). Lewis & Short gloss it with στρόφιον (stróphion), which Festus, quoting…

It is formed from Latin sub- (“under”) + -dō found in compounds such as abdō (“to hide”). Latin compounds in ⟨-dō⟩ can continue either Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put”) or *deh₃- (“to give”)…

It is from Latin superus (“upper, above”), its masculine plural used as a noun. The adjective is formed from super (“above”); de Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *supero- (“upper”) and…

It is from Latin superus (“upper”), its ablative feminine singular, Old Latin ⟨suprād⟩, from Proto-Italic *superād. De Vaan traces superus to Proto-Italic *supero- and Proto-Indo-European *uper-o-…

It is from Latin tābeō (“to melt away, waste”) + -scō, an inchoative. De Vaan traces tābeō to Proto-Italic *tāf-ē- (“to be melting”) and Proto-Indo-European *teh₂-bʰ-eh₁- (“to be melting”)…

It is formed from Latin tam (“so”) with a particle ⟨-em⟩, as in īdem: ⟨*tam-em⟩. The parallel ⟨*tam-dem⟩ gave tandem. The adverb ⟨tam⟩ goes back to Proto-Indo-European *teh₂m.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τάπης (tápēs, “carpet, rug”). The Greek word is traditionally taken to be an Iranian loan, as Köbler also gives it; Beekes thinks its many variant forms point to a…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *tom, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, the accusative singular masculine of the demonstrative *só (“that”). It is the correlative of cum (old ⟨quom⟩), as…

It is formed from Latin tum (“then”) and the deictic particle -ce, Old Latin ⟨*tunce⟩, like nunc “now”. ⟨Tum⟩ continues Proto-Indo-European *tóm, the accusative of the demonstrative ⟨*só⟩.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *towos (“your”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tewos, the possessive of tū. In early drama the ⟨tu-⟩ sometimes merged with a following long vowel into one…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *uksōr (“wife”), of unknown origin. Compare Faliscan uxor (“wife”). De Vaan dismisses the proposals: ⟨*uks-or-⟩ “inseminated one”, from the root of Sanskrit उक्षन्…

It is from Latin vē- (“lacking”) + cor (“heart, mind”). De Vaan traces cor to Proto-Italic *kord and Proto-Indo-European *ḱērd (“heart”), genitive ⟨*ḱrd-o/es⟩, whose oblique stem the Latin forms…

It is from Latin vēr (“spring”) + -nus. De Vaan explains it either as continuing an older Proto-Italic *wesinos or, with Nussbaum, as made from a locative *vēri-no-; Wiktionary notes that the…

It is from Latin ab- (“away”) + aliēnō (“to make another's, estrange”). aliēnō is from aliēnus (“of another”), from alius (“other”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *al-jo- and…

It is from Latin ab- + avus (“grandfather”). De Vaan traces avus to Proto-Italic *awo- and Proto-Indo-European *h2euh2- (“grandfather on the mother's side”), with cognates in Hittite huhha-…

The origin is unclear. It has been explained from the verb abdō (“to conceal”), as *ap-dhoh1-mn, with the original meaning “hidden part”, but de Vaan finds that assumption unfounded. The Germanic…

It is from Latin ab- (“away”) + errō (“to wander”). De Vaan traces errō to Proto-Italic *ers-āje-, a denominal verb "to be restless", and Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers-o/h₂- (“erring, error”), perhaps…

It is from Latin ab- + hinc (“from here”).

It is formed from Latin ab- (“from, away”) + horreō (“to bristle, shudder”). De Vaan derives ⟨horreō⟩ from Proto-Italic *χorsē- (“to be stiff”) and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰrs-eh₁- (“to be stiff…

It is from Latin abiēs (“silver fir”) + -nus, with the ending ⟨-gnus⟩ apparently modelled on salignus (“of willow”) and other adjectives for woods. De Vaan considers abiēs probably of…

It is from Latin ab- + agō (“to drive”), with the vowel weakened in the compound. The verb agō goes back to Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- (“to do, act”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o- (“to drive…

It is from Latin abeō (“to go away”) + -tus, a fourth-declension noun of action. abeō is a compound of ab- and eō (“to go”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *ei- (“to go”) and…

It is from Latin ab- (“away from”) + iūdicō (“to judge”), the opposite of adiūdicō (“to award by judgement”). The verb iūdicō is formed on iūdex (“judge”), which de Vaan derives from ⟨*ious-dik-⟩, a…

It is from Latin ab- (“away, off”) + iūrō (“to swear”), and iūrō is from iūs (“law, right”).

It is formed from Latin ab- (“away”) + -nuō (“to nod”), found only in compounds, so literally “to nod away, refuse by a nod”. De Vaan traces ⟨-nuō⟩ to Proto-Italic *nowe/o- and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin ab- + rapiō (“to seize, snatch”). The verb rapiō goes back to Proto-Italic *rap-i- (“to seize”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i- (“to seize”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐρέπτομαι…

It is from Latin ab- + rogō (“to ask; to propose a law”). De Vaan takes rogō as a verb formed from a noun or adjective Proto-Italic *rogo- (“request; stretching out”), from Proto-Indo-European…

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin absum (“to be away”). The verb is ab- with sum (“to be”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *es- (“to be”) and Proto-Indo-European…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον (apsínthion, “wormwood”). Köbler calls the further origin of the Greek word unclear.

It is from Latin ab- (“from, away”) + solvō (“to loosen, release”), “to loosen from”. De Vaan explains solvō as a compound of ⟨*se-⟩ “away” and luō (“to loosen”).