Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

The origin is unknown. Some refer it to Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- (“to hold, shut in”), and Pokorny tentatively places it under that root as “the one who shuts in”, as Walde had done by connecting…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ord-n- (“row, order”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂or-d-, a d-extension of the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit”). The Oxford Latin Dictionary…

It is from Latin Palātium, the Palatine hill of Rome, where the emperors' residences stood. Naevius had ⟨Balātium⟩, according to Varro, and Martial scans it ⟨Pālātium⟩. Isidore derived the hill's…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan finds no etymology: a preform such as ⟨*pHl-⟩ with some suffix, or a root as in pellis (“skin”), is possible, but it may well be a loanword. Wiktionary reports…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pand-n-, from the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *pt-n(é)-h₂- (“to spread”) of the root *peth₂-. Its participle passus keeps the unnasalized root, as does pateō…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pang- (“to attach”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂-n-ǵ- (“to attach, fasten”), a nasal present of the root *peh₂ǵ- (“to fasten”). Nouns from the full…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “one who eats at another's table”). Lewis & Short and Georges explain the Greek as one who eats with or beside another.

It is from Latin pandō (“to spread, stretch out”) (from its stem), with the suffix -tus, from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread”): a step as a stretching of the legs…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pat-i-, of uncertain origin. One proposal links it with Ancient Greek πῆμα (pêma, “suffering”) from *peh₁-mn̥, which would give a base *ph₁-t- and so ⟨pat-⟩, but…

It is from Latin patrius (“of a father, ancestral”), its feminine, used as a noun, short for ⟨terra patria⟩ “ancestral land”. The adjective comes from pater “father”, from Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin patruus (“father's brother”) + -ēlis. De Vaan, following Leumann, suggests that it may be dissimilated from an older *patruīlis, “of a father's brother”. The noun patruus belongs to…

It is from Latin paucus (“few, little”), a diminutive, though Georges takes it as a diminutive of paullus (“little”). De Vaan lists it from Naevius on among the derivatives of the first adjective…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *peku-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ-u- (“cattle”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to pluck, fleece”). Cognate with Umbrian pequo (“cattle”)…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pelna- (“to approach”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥-n(e)-h₂- (“to approach”), a nasal present, with a shift from “bring close to” to “push, impel”…

It is generally taken as inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pes-ni- (“penis”), as in Hittite pešan- (“man, male”), Sanskrit पसस् (pásas, “penis”) and Ancient Greek πέος (péos, “penis”). De Vaan…

It is formed from Latin per- + -dō, with the prefix in its pejorative sense of destruction. The second part is disputed: de Vaan derives the Latin compounds in ⟨-dere⟩ from the reduplicated present…

It is from Latin per- + doceō (“to teach”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of doceō, which goes back to Proto-Italic *dok-eje- and Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-ei̯e/o- (“to make someone accept…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pereagro “beyond the surrounding land”, by surface analysis per and ager “field, territory”. The TLL says it is unclear whether ⟨peregre⟩ or ⟨peregrī⟩, perhaps an…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *persnā, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tspērsn-h₂- (“heel”); in Latin the word for the heel shifted to the haunch and upper leg. Lubotsky connects it with a…

It is from Latin per- (“through”) + vehō (“to carry”). De Vaan traces vehō to Proto-Italic *weχ-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *ueǵh-e/o- (“to carry”). Cognate with Sanskrit वहति (váhati, “carries…

It is from Latin per- + vellō (“to pluck, pull”). De Vaan reconstructs vellō as a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *uelh₃- (“to strike”), though Schrijver prefers another preform.

It serves as the superlative of malus “bad”. It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ped-isamo-, built on the same stem as the comparative peior “worse”, from *pedjōs. De Vaan explains the double /s/ as…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ping-e/o- (“to paint”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pi-n-ḱ- (“to paint, adorn”), a nasal present of the root *peyḱ- (“to paint, adorn”). Cognate with…

It is from Latin placidus (“calm, gentle”) + -ē. The adjective placidus is formed from placeō (“to please”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *plak-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₂/₃k- (“to…

It is from Latin placeō (“to please”) + -idus. Placeō goes back to Proto-Italic *plak-ē-, Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₂k- (“to agree, be pleasant”).

It is formed from Latin plaudō (“to clap”) + -tus, the noun suffix. De Vaan derives ⟨plaudō⟩ from Proto-Italic *plaude- (“to clap the hands”) and Proto-Indo-European *plh₂-u- (“palm of the hand…

It is from Latin plērusque (“most”), its masculine plural, used as a noun. plērusque is formed from Latin plērus (“most”) + -que; plērus, an early form of it, is related to plēnus (“full”) and goes…

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin polleō (“to be strong”). De Vaan accepts McCone's and Rix's derivation of polleō from Proto-Italic *polnē- (“to be full”), the nasal…

McCone and Rix derive it from *polnē-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥-n-eh₁-, a stative verb built on the nasal present of the root *pleh₁- “to fill”, so “to be full”, then “to be strong”…

Nussbaum analyses it as a causative from Proto-Italic *por-loik-eie- (“to make available, offer”), from por- and the stem of licet “it is allowed”, so that it first meant to make something available…

It is from Latin po- (“away, off”) + sinō (“to let, place”), through *po-sinō, *posnō and *poznō, “to put down”. The old perfect posīvī was the regular perfect of sinō, and when the link was lost…

It is from Latin populus (“people”) + -āris. De Vaan reconstructs populus as *poplo- (“army”), of uncertain further origin. Plautus has a syncopated poplāris.

It is from Latin populus (“people, army”), but the development of meaning is uncertain. De Vaan suggests an earlier sense “to have an army pass through”, as Proto-Germanic *harjōną “to harry” from…

It is formed from Latin porcus (“pig”) + -īnus. Porcus goes back to Proto-Italic *pork-o- and Proto-Indo-European *pórḱ-o- (“digger, pig”), originally “digger”, from the root also seen in the word…

It is a univerbation from Latin post (“after”) + quam (“than”), “later than”; it is also written separately. ⟨Post⟩ goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pos-ti (“after”).

1. The verb for “get possession of” is from Latin potis (“master, able”). De Vaan explains that the noun for “master” became an adjective in combination with esse, and that a verb was then derived…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *poti- (“master, in control”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“master, lord, husband”). The Indo-European noun became an adjective in Latin in the…

It is from Latin potior (“better, preferable”), its neuter, ⟨potior⟩ being the comparative of potis “able”, used as an adverb. De Vaan explains ⟨potis⟩ from the PIE noun Proto-Indo-European *pótis…

It is formed from Latin prae (“before”) + -ter, as in inter, subter and propter. Wiktionary sets up Proto-Italic *praiteros, with the contrastive suffix *-teros. De Vaan traces prae to…

It is a compound from Latin praeter (“beyond, except”) + quam (“than”). Wiktionary traces ⟨quam⟩ to the pronoun stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷos.

It is from Latin prīmus (“first”): the noun is its neuter used as a noun, and the adverb is the neuter accusative used adverbially.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *prīzmos, a superlative of the old preposition *pri, *prei, also seen in the comparative prior and in prīscus. The OLD reconstructs *prismo- and compares Paelignian…

It is from Latin probus (“good, upright”) + -ō. The adjective is from Proto-Italic *pro-f(w)-o- (“favourable”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰ(h₂)u-o-, from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward”)…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pro-fr-o-, originally an adjective Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰr-o- (“what is brought up against someone”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry”) of…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pro-f(w)-o- (“favourable”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰ(h₂)u-o- (“being in front”), a compound of Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward”) and…

It is from Latin prō- + agō (“to drive”), with the prefix in the form ⟨prōd-⟩, as in redigō and redeō.

It is from Latin prō- + fluō (“to flow”).

It is formed from Latin prō- (“forward”) + inde (“thence”). The TLL explains that the adverb ⟨prō-⟩ was strengthened by ⟨inde⟩, so that it first meant “further on, onward from here”, a formation…

Its formation is disputed. De Vaan follows Dunkel, who derives it from Latin prope (“near”) as ⟨*prope-tio-⟩, and thinks this better than the earlier explanations. The OLD and the TLL connect it…

It is formed from Latin prope + -ter, for ⟨*propiter⟩, like inter and subter. De Vaan follows Dunkel in explaining prope “near” from an iterative preverb Proto-Indo-European *própro (“on and on…

It is prō combined with a form from Proto-Italic *sparo-, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁-ro- (“thriving”), or a derivative of a compound verb *pro-speh₁- “to thrive”. The root *speh₁- “to prosper”…

It is from Latin prō- + veniō (“to come”). The verb veniō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to come”); its present is inherited, with Latin ⟨n⟩ for the root's /m/. The TLL compares the…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pung- (“to pierce, sting”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pu-n(e)-g/k-, a nasal present. Related words are pugnus “fist” and pugil “boxer”, and cognates…

The OLD takes it as borrowed from Ancient Greek φοινίκεος (phoiníkeos, “purple-red”) in an adapted form. Wiktionary and Köbler derive it from ⟨pūnicus⟩, the adjective of ⟨Poenus⟩ “Carthaginian”…

It is from Latin quantum (“how much”), its ablative, ⟨quantum⟩ being the neuter of quantus (“how great”), used as an adverb: “by how much”.

It is a back-formation from Latin nequeō (“to be unable”). De Vaan explains that the mix of ⟨-eō, -eunt⟩ and ⟨ī⟩-forms shows the verb eō (“to go”): a contracted ⟨*neque īt⟩ or ⟨*neque ītur⟩ “it does…

The OLD calls the origin doubtful. Wiktionary takes it as the neuter quid from Latin quis, with an emphatic ending ⟨*-em⟩, the same as in īdem beside is. Köbler connects the second part with the PIE…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *rap-i- (“to seize”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i- (“to seize”). De Vaan takes it from the zero grade *h₁rp- of a root *h₁rep-, which gave *erp- and…

Its origin is uncertain. It has been connected with rētae “trees in a riverbed” and with Old High German ruota (“rod”), Old Norse róða (“rod, pole”), which de Vaan finds not compelling in sense. He…

It is from Latin re- + conciliō (“to bring together, win over”). De Vaan lists it, with conciliō and concilium, under calō (“to call”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *kela- and Proto-Indo-European…