Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is from Latin bōs (“ox”), formed after subulcus (“swineherd”). Wiktionary calls the ending ⟨-bulcus⟩ “herd” and thinks the word likely shaped on the analogy of subulcus. The OLD compares the…

The origin is uncertain. It is usually compared with Sanskrit ककुभ् (kakúbh-, “peak, top”) and Sanskrit ककुद् (kakúd-, “peak”), and de Vaan also cites Ancient Greek κῦφος (kûphos, “hump”). Walde…

It is from Latin cādūceum (“herald's staff”) + -tor. The OLD derives that noun from Ancient Greek κηρύκειον (kērúkeion, “herald's staff”) or its form καρύκειον (karúkeion), with /d/ in place of /r/…

It is formed from Latin cadō (“to fall”). De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Italic *kad-e/o- and, with doubt, Proto-Indo-European *(ḱe-)ḱh₂d- (“to fall”).

It is formed from Latin caedō (“to cut, strike, kill”). De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Italic *kaid-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (“to cut, hew”); Albanian qeth (“to shave”) may be…

It is from Latin calamitās (“loss, disaster”) + -ōsus. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of ⟨calamitās⟩, which he takes from an adjective Proto-Italic *kalamo- (“damaged”), perhaps…

It is from Latin campus (“plain, field”) + -ester. De Vaan traces campus to Proto-Italic *kampo- (“field”); he finds its ⟨ca-⟩ hard to explain and thinks it could be a European substrate word of…

It is from Latin candēla (“candle”) + -brum. candēla is from candeō (“to shine”), which de Vaan takes back to Proto-Italic *kand-ē- (“to shine”); if it belongs with a root ⟨*knd-⟩, its ⟨a⟩ arose in…

The OLD regards it as probably from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”) + -trum, and Wiktionary derives it in the same way. The TLL calls the origin uncertain. Isidore of Seville explained it from the…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kaprīno- (“of a goat”), an adjective in ⟨-īno-⟩ to *kapro- (“he-goat”), the source of caper. Morphologically it is from Latin caper + -īnus. The genitive Umbrian…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek καρκίνωμα (karkínōma). The Greek word is related to καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab; ulcer”). L&S notes that the native Latin word for the disease is cancer.

It is from Latin cārus (“dear”) + -ē. De Vaan traces cārus to Proto-Italic *kāro- (“dear”) and Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-ro- (“desired, desirable”). Cognate with Faliscan karai (“dear”), Latvian…

It is from Latin cariēs (“decay, rot”) + -ōsus. De Vaan thinks cariēs more likely belongs to careō (“to lack”), as a “state of defectiveness”, than to the root of Sanskrit शृणाति (śr̥ṇā́ti…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *karp-i/eno-, of uncertain origin. De Vaan compares, with some doubt, Hittite karpina- (“a kind of fruit tree”) and the Baltic tree names Old Prussian skerptus and…

It is from Latin catīnus (“bowl, dish”) + -lus, a diminutive. For the base, de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *katīno-; it has been connected with Ancient Greek κοτύλη (kotúlē, “bowl, dish”), but…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *katīno- and notes that it has been connected with Ancient Greek κοτύλη (kotúlē, “bowl, dish”); since the Greek word is not an exact match…

It is from Latin centum (“hundred”) + -ēnī, with the suffix of the distributive numerals.

Its origin is unknown. Wiktionary suggests a substrate word shared with English kex, Cornish kegis and Welsh cegid (“hemlock”).

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + agō (“to drive, lead”). De Vaan traces agō to Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o- (“to drive, lead”).

It is formed from Latin circum- (“around”) + fundō (“to pour”). De Vaan derives ⟨fundō⟩ from Proto-Italic *χund- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰu-n-d- (“to pour”), cognate with Ancient…

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + linō (“to smear”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of linō, which goes back to Proto-Italic *lina- (“to smear”) and the present Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + pōnō (“to put, place”). De Vaan explains pōnō as a compound, Proto-Italic *po-sine/o-, “to put down”, with the verb sinō (“to let”); its old perfect was…

It is formed from Latin circumstāns (“standing around”) + -ia, ⟨circumstāns⟩ being the present participle of circumstō (“to stand around, surround”). It served to render Ancient Greek περίστασις…

It is from Latin cis (“on this side”), formed like citrā on the analogy of ultrō. De Vaan traces cis to Proto-Italic *ki (“here, by”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱi (“this here”), cognate with…

It is from Latin clārus (“clear, famous”) + -tūdō. The adjective clārus goes back to Proto-Italic *klāros (“loud”) and Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁-ró- (“loud, sonorous”), from the root…

It is from Latin cōgō (“to drive together, collect”) + -tor, formed on its past participle coāctus.

It is from Latin con- + aequō (“to make level, make equal”). De Vaan derives aequō from the adjective aequus (“level, equal”), probably from a form ⟨*aikwos⟩, for which he finds no convincing…

It is a diminutive from Latin cōdex (“tree trunk; book”) + -illus, the OLD giving the older form caudex as its base. De Vaan derives caudex from the stem of cauda (“tail”), going back to…

It is from Latin color (“colour”) + -ō, a verb made from the noun. De Vaan traces color, older colōs, to Proto-Italic *kelōs- (“outside, aspect”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-ōs (“cover, covering”)…

It is a diminutive, from Latin columna (“column”) + -ella. De Vaan lists it with columna under columen (“summit, top”), from Proto-Italic *kelamen- and Proto-Indo-European *kelH-men- (“top…

It is from Latin con- + bibō (“to drink”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of bibō, from Cato on, and reports Rosén's view that in the oldest texts ⟨con-⟩ only makes such verbs perfective, as…

It is from Latin committō (“to join, connect”) + -ūra, with the regular change of /tt/ to /ss/. De Vaan lists that verb among the compounds of mittō (“to send”), which he traces to Proto-Italic…

It is formed from Latin commodus (“fitting, convenient”) + -ō, the verb suffix; Wiktionary takes it from the noun commodum (“advantage, convenience”). The adjective is built on modus (“measure”)…

It is from Latin commūnis (“common, shared”) + -ter. Wiktionary traces commūnis through Old Latin comoinis to Proto-Italic *kommoinis and Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s, from the root *mey-.

It is formed from Latin competō (“to come together, meet”), the place where roads meet. That verb is a compound of con- and petō (“to make for”), which de Vaan connects with a root meaning to fly.

It is from Latin com- + plānus (“flat, level”) + -ō. De Vaan traces the adjective to Proto-Italic *plāno- and Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₂-nó- (“flattened”).

It is from Latin con- + crēscō (“to grow”), “to grow together”. De Vaan traces crēscō to Proto-Italic *krē- (“to grow, increase”) and Proto-Indo-European *k(w)reh₁- (“to become bigger, stronger”)…

It is probably borrowed from Ancient Greek κόγχος (kónkhos, “mussel; a measure”), which Pokorny traces to Proto-Indo-European *k̑onkho- (“mussel”), with Sanskrit शङ्ख (śaṅkhá-, “mussel”). Wiktionary…

It is from Latin con- + quassō (“to shake repeatedly”). quassō is formed from quatiō (“to shake”), for which de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *kwat-i-; he compares Old High German scutten (“to…

1. The verb “sow” is formed from con- (“together, thoroughly”) and serō (“to sow”). De Vaan derives ⟨serō⟩ from Proto-Italic *sise- (“to sow”), a reduplicated present Proto-Indo-European *si-sh₁-e-…

It is from Latin con- + valēscō (“to grow strong”), the inchoative of valeō (“to be strong”). De Vaan traces valeō to Proto-Italic *wal-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ulh₁-eh₁- (“to be strong”)…

It is formed from Latin con- (“together, thoroughly”) + vellō (“to pluck, tear”). De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Italic *weln-e/o-, probably a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *uelh₃- (“to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kosolo- (“hazel”) or *kosulo-. Cognate with Old Irish coll and Old Welsh coll, Old Lithuanian kasùlas (“hunter's spear, stick, bush”), Old High German hasal and…

It is a shortening from Latin mālum + cotōneum, the quince. Its relation to Ancient Greek κυδώνιον (kudṓnion, “quince”) (“Cydonian apple”, after Κυδωνία (Kudōnía) in Crete) is disputed: Wiktionary…

It is from Latin crātis (“wickerwork, hurdle”) + -cula, a diminutive. De Vaan reconstructs crātis as Proto-Italic *krāti- (“wickerwork”) and compares Old High German hurd (“hurdle”) and Old Prussian…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κύμινον (kúminon, “cumin”). The Greek word is ultimately Semitic; Köbler compares Akkadian kamūnu. The grammarian Velius Longus notes that the Latin word renders…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi, “gum”), from Egyptian qmy or qmyt. The OLD, Köbler and Etymonline give the Egyptian word as ⟨kemai⟩. Isidore of Seville already notes that it is a…

Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin cūrō (“to take care of”). The verb is formed from cūra (“care”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kwois-ā- (“care, watch”) and…

Many since antiquity have taken it as the same word as currūlis (“of a chariot”), and the OLD derives it, perhaps, from an unattested ⟨*currūlis⟩, from Latin currus (“chariot”), with the suffix…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κύλινδρος (kúlindros, “cylinder, roller”), from κυλίνδω (kulíndō, “to roll”), which Etymonline calls of unknown origin. Isidore of Seville says the stone roller…

It is from Latin dē- + carpō (“to pluck”), with ⟨a⟩ weakened to ⟨e⟩. De Vaan traces carpō to Proto-Italic *karp- and Proto-Indo-European *kerp-e/o- (“to pick, pluck”).

It is from Latin dē- + coquō (“to cook”). De Vaan traces coquō to Proto-Italic *kʷekʷe/o- (“to cook”) and Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ-e/o- (“to cook”).

It is formed from Latin dē- (“down”) + fīgō (“to fix, fasten”). De Vaan derives ⟨fīgō⟩ from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ-e/o- (“to stick, fix”) or ⟨*dʰiHgʷ-e/o-⟩, cognate with Lithuanian díegti (“to…

It is from Latin dē- + fricō (“to rub”). That verb, de Vaan suggests, presupposes an adjective in Proto-Italic *fri-k-, probably built to the base of friō (“to crumble”), from Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin dē- + frangō (“to break”). De Vaan traces frangō to Proto-Italic *frang- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *bʰr-n-ǵ- (“to break”).

It is from Latin dē- + fundō (“to pour”). De Vaan traces fundō to Proto-Italic *χund- and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰu-n-d- (“to pour”); cognate with Ancient Greek χέω (khéō, “to pour”).

It is from Latin dē- + gustō (“to taste”). gustō is an intensive built on the participle of an old verb for "taste", which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *ǵ(e)us- (“to taste”); the old verb…

It is from Latin dē- + metō (“to reap”). De Vaan derives metō from Proto-Italic *met-e- (“to reap”), cognate with Welsh medi (“to mow, harvest”); the further origin is disputed, and he finds a shift…

It is formed from Latin dē- (“away, down”) + pellō (“to push, drive”). De Vaan traces pellō to Proto-Italic *pelna- and Proto-Indo-European *pl-n(e)-h₂- (“to approach”), cognate with Ancient Greek…

It is formed from Latin dēportō + -tiō. dēportō (“to bring, convey”) is a compound of portō (“to carry”), which de Vaan takes to be probably made from a noun meaning “passage, crossing”, going back…