Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ambō (“both”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)nt-bʰoH (“both”). The ending ⟨-ō⟩ continues the PIE dual. Greek, Latin and Tocharian have a first syllable…

It is from Latin amīcus (“friend”), its feminine, from amō “to love”.

It is from Latin ambi- (“around”) + iaciō (“to throw”), “to throw round oneself”. De Vaan traces ⟨iaciō⟩ to Proto-Italic *jak-i- (“to throw”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hyeh₁- (“to throw, let go”)…

It is from Latin amō (“to love”) + -īcus; the adjective “friendly” is the original use. De Vaan suggests that the suffix -īcus may come from an instrumental in *-ih₁ with *-ko-, as in pudīcus and…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *afni- (“river”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ebʰ-n- (“river”), an n-stem with an added ⟨*-i-⟩. The root is *h₂ebʰ- (“water, river”). The OLD compares…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ama- (“to take, hold”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₃mh₃- (“to take hold of”). The meaning would have moved from “to take someone's hand” to “to regard as…

It is formed from Latin amō + -or, an action noun from the verb “to love”. De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *amā- (“to take, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃mh₃- (“to take hold of”), the…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς (amphoreús, “two-handled jar”). The Greek word is built on ἀμφί (amphí, “on both sides”) and the root of φέρω (phérō, “to carry”). The diminutive ampulla…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura, “anchor”). Wiktionary allows that it may be a cognate rather than a loan, but thinks borrowing more likely. Köbler compares the root…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *angʷis, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éngʷʰis (“snake”). Several languages have a similar stem without the nasal, as Ancient Greek ἔχις (ékhis, “viper”)…

It belongs with animus “mind, spirit”, inherited from Proto-Italic *anamo- (“breath, spirit”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-mo- (“breath”). Cognate with Oscan anamúm (“breath…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *atno- (“year”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no-, from a root meaning “to go, wander”, so that the year was “the one that goes round”. It replaced the…

It is formed from Latin annus (“year”) + -uus. De Vaan derives ⟨annus⟩ from Proto-Italic *atno- (“year”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no- (“a going, year”), from a root meaning “to go, wander”, so…

It is formed from Latin ānus (“ring”) + -ulus; Lewis and Short note that it is not felt as a diminutive, like circulus from circum. De Vaan traces ⟨ānus⟩ “ring” to Proto-Italic *āno- (“ring”) and…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ap-wer-je- (“to open”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer- (“to cover”), so “to uncover”. The *w after the labial was lost, as…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ap-(e)i- (“to get, seize”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁p-i- (“to get, grab”), with the suffix -scō. Cognate with Hittite epzi (“takes”), Sanskrit आप…

It is from Latin ad- (“to, towards”) + pāreō (“to appear; to obey”). The origin of pāreō is uncertain: de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *pās-ē- and suggests a stative verb “to be visible”, perhaps…

De Vaan, following Cohen, derives it most straightforwardly from Latin aquila (“eagle”) + -ō, the cold north wind being personified as a fast, aggressive bird of prey. The OLD derives it instead…

It is from Latin artus (“tight, close”) + -ē. De Vaan traces artus to Proto-Italic *arto- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂r-tó- (“fitted”). Cognate with Sanskrit ऋत (ṛtá-, “truthful; truth, agreement”)…

It is from Latin ad- (“at”) + speciō (“to look”). Plautus has the old perfect subjunctive ⟨aspexit⟩.

The origin is uncertain; the OLD marks it as doubtful. De Vaan treats it under assis (“plank”), whose variant spelling ⟨axis⟩ he takes as a hypercorrection; he reports Ernout and Meillet's view that…

It is from Latin ad- (“at, by”) + stō (“to stand”). De Vaan traces ⟨stō⟩ to Proto-Italic *sta-ē-je/o- (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *sth₂-eh₁-ye/o- (“to stand”).

It is probably formed from Latin āter (“black”) and the root *h₃ekʷ- “to see” of oculus, so “having a black look”. Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₂h₁tro-h₃kʷs (“having the appearance…

It is formed from Latin audeō (“to dare”) + -āx. De Vaan derives audeō from avidus (“greedy, eager”): it first meant “to want very much”, as in Plautus' ⟨sōdēs⟩ “please”, from ⟨*sī audēs⟩ “if you…

It is formed from Latin avidus (“greedy”) + -ēre, the stative suffix, so that it first meant “to be greedy, to want very much”. This older sense survives in sōdēs “if you please”, from *sī audēs “if…

It is from Latin augeō (“to increase”) + -scō, the inchoative of the verb. De Vaan traces augeō to Proto-Italic *augeje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eug- (“to grow”), comparing Sanskrit उक्षति…

It is formed from Latin auspex (“bird-watcher, augur”) + -ium. De Vaan derives auspex from ⟨*awi-speks⟩, a compound of avis (“bird”) and the root of speciō (“to look”); he traces avis to…

It is from Latin auspex (“one who watches birds for omens”) + -or, as auguror is from augur. De Vaan derives auspex from ⟨*au̯i-speks⟩, a compound of avis (“bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eu-i-…

It is a derivative from Latin aveō (“to be eager, desire”), though the exact formation is unclear: the only other adjective in -ārus is amārus “bitter”. De Vaan derives aveō from Proto-Italic *awē-…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *awi- (“bird”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis (“bird”), an i-stem; de Vaan argues against the view, current since Schindler, that it was a root noun…

It is from Latin duellum, the older form, still used by Plautus and in old formulas. In Plautus duellum has two syllables, and later poets make it three, perhaps by association with duo. De Vaan…

The origin is uncertain. It is often compared with bēstia (“beast”), whose origin is also unclear, as if from ⟨*bēslVwa⟩; another proposal derives it from a root meaning “to breathe”, as words for…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dwi- (“two”), from Proto-Indo-European *du̯i- (“two”), the form of the numeral used as the first member of a compound. Where the ⟨i⟩ came from in…

It is from Latin bi- (“two”) + pēs (“foot”), “two-footed”. De Vaan calls it the earliest attested compound in ⟨bi-⟩, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dui- (“two”); pēs continues…

It is from Latin blandus (“flattering, charming”) + -ē. The origin of blandus is uncertain: de Vaan rejects the link with mollis (“soft”) as phonetically impossible, reports Schrijver's preform…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan rejects the link with mollis (“soft”) made by Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny as phonetically impossible; others have compared Ancient Greek μαλακός (malakós, “soft”) and…

It is from Proto-Italic *gʷōs, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). The regular Latin outcome would be *vōs or *ūs, so the initial ⟨b⟩ is generally thought to come from a Sabellic dialect, in…

It is generally regarded as a word from a Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian) dialect, in which /gʷ/ became /b/, and so goes back to the same stem as gravis (“heavy”). De Vaan's reconstruction is from…

It is from Latin bōs (“ox, cow”) + -ulus. The formation is obscure: the base ⟨būb-⟩, also found in būbīle and Būbōna (“goddess of cattle”), has an unexpected second ⟨b⟩, and ⟨-ulus⟩ does not usually…

The Indo-European origin is uncertain. De Vaan's reconstruction is inherited from Proto-Italic *kaln/so- (“hard”), originally an adjective “hard”, which would explain the shifting gender and the…

It is from Latin candeō (“to shine, be white”) + -or. De Vaan traces candeō to Proto-Italic *kand-ē- (“to shine”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *kn̥d- seen in formations such as *kn̥d-ro-…

It is a frequentative from Latin canō (“to sing”) + -tō, though it mostly has the same meaning.

It is formed from Latin carō (“flesh”) + -fex (“maker, doer”), from faciō (“to make, do”). De Vaan derives ⟨carō⟩ from Proto-Italic *kerō(n) (“piece of meat”) and Proto-Indo-European *k(e)rH-n-…

1. The verb “to card” is compared by the OLD with Sanskrit कषति (kaṣati, “rubs, scratches”), and by Lewis & Short with Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “to shear”). Varro cites it from Naevius, and the…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kawē-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éie- (“to perceive”). De Vaan explains the /a/ by an unrounding of PIE /ou̯/ before the stress, so that…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Italic *kē̆li/elā-, from a root meaning “to hide, cover”, Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-. De Vaan suggests it may come from *kēla by the littera rule, which replaced a…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *knsē- (“to estimate”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱn̥s-eh₁- or *ḱn̥s-eie-, from the root *ḱens- “to announce”. García-Ramón explains the second conjugation…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kerēs, an adjective Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₁/₃-ēs (“with nourishment”) from a noun *ḱerh₁/₃-os “nourishment, grain”. Cognate with Faliscan ceres, Oscan kerrí…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan notes that a root of the shape ⟨*ḱ-bʰ⟩ is not possible in Proto-Indo-European and ⟨*b⟩ is very rare, so an inherited word would need a root ⟨*ḱi-⟩ with a suffix…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *klāro- (“loud”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁-ro- (“loud, sonorous”), a derivative in *-ro- of the root Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, shout”)…

Its origin is uncertain, but Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Italic *kʷolsom, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kʷolso- (“neck”), literally “that on which the head turns”, from…

1. It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kʷele/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-e/o- (“to go round”). The original /e/ became /o/ after the initial /kʷ/, and the older vowel is kept in…

It is from Latin com- + mūnis (“obliged”), literally “sharing the duties”. Old Latin had comoinis. The base is Proto-Italic *moini- (“duty, obligation”), as in mūnus “duty, gift”, perhaps from…

It is from Latin con- + potis (“able, master of”). De Vaan traces ⟨potis⟩ to Proto-Italic *poti- (“master”), from Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“master”).

Its origin is uncertain. Wiktionary takes it as a verb from Latin concinnus (“well arranged, elegant”), from con- and cinnus. Nonius derived it from cinnus, which he says was a drink made of many…

It is from Latin con- + cor (“heart”). The OLD adds that its meaning was influenced by a false derivation from chorda “string”. De Vaan lists it under cor, which he traces to Proto-Italic *kord and…

It is formed from Latin con- + -im, the adverbial ending, ⟨con-⟩ being a noun ⟨*festi-⟩ “haste”, with the root of festīnō (“to hurry”). De Vaan notes that this adverb points to an earlier noun…

It is from Latin cōnfīdēns (“confident, bold”) + -ia, the participle of cōnfīdō “to trust firmly”, from con- and fīdō “to trust”.

It is from Latin con- (“together”) + spondeō (“to pledge”). De Vaan traces ⟨spondeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *spondeje/o- (“to pour libations many times, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spond-eye/o-…

It is from Latin con- + templum (“sacred area marked out for taking auspices”), with a verbal suffix, as Varro already saw. Lewis & Short take it to belong first to the language of augury, for the…