Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is formed from Latin nefās (“what is wrong, a crime”) + -ius. nefās is from ne- (“not”) and fās (“divine law, what is right”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *faos, from…

It is from Latin nōdus (“knot”) + -ō, a verb formed from the noun.

It is from Latin novem (“nine”), because it was the ninth month of the old Roman year, which began with March. The OLD compares the formation of December; Georges speaks of a suffix ⟨-ber⟩, and…

It is from Latin ob- (“towards, before”) + moveō (“to move”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of moveō, which goes back to Proto-Italic *mow(a)- and Proto-Indo-European *m(i̯)euh₁- (“to…

The origin is uncertain. Lewis and Short, Georges, Köbler and Wiktionary give it as borrowed from Ancient Greek ὤκινον (ṓkinon), but the TLL notes that this Greek word survives only in Latin…

It is from Latin octō (“eight”), formed in the same way as December. Wiktionary describes it as made by analogy with September, as if from the numeral and a suffix ⟨-ber⟩. The name refers to the…

1. The adjective “fragrant” is from Latin odor (“smell”) + -ātus. Wiktionary and Lewis & Short take it as the participle of odōrō (“to perfume”). De Vaan traces odor to Proto-Italic *odōs (“odour”)…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *auksla-, through the older Latin form aul(l)a, which is regular in Naevius, Plautus and Cato; ⟨olla⟩ is found after Cato. The diminutive auxilla (“small jar”)…

It is from Latin operiō (“to cover”) + -culum. De Vaan derives operiō from Proto-Italic *op-wer-i(e)- (“to cover up”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂uer-i(e)- (“to cover”).

It is from Latin orbis (“circle, wheel, disc”) + -culus, a diminutive. De Vaan reconstructs the noun as Proto-Italic *orfi- (“wheel”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃orbʰ-i- (“turning thing”), but its…

It is from Latin ovis (“sheep”) + -īle, the neuter of the adjective ovīlis used as a noun. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of ovis, which goes back to Proto-Italic *owi- and…

It is from Latin ovis (“sheep”) + -lus. The TLL compares bovīllus and suillus; Wiktionary takes it as a diminutive formation from ovīnus (“of sheep”), although that word is not attested until…

It is from Latin palma (“palm of the hand”), a masculine form beside it. That noun goes back to Proto-Italic *palamā- and Proto-Indo-European *plh₂-em-h₂- (“flat, wide”). Cognate with Ancient Greek…

It is from Latin pater (“father”) + familia (“household”), literally “father of the household”. The second part keeps the archaic genitive in ⟨-ās⟩, which the OLD finds in an inscription of 118 BC…

It is from Latin paviō (“to beat, ram down”) + -mentum. De Vaan traces paviō to Proto-Italic *pawje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *ph₂u-ye/o- (“to hit”), comparing Ancient Greek παίω (paíō, “to…

It is from Latin pēs (“foot”) + -ālis. The base goes back to Proto-Italic *pōd- and Proto-Indo-European *pōd-s (“foot”).

It is from Latin per- (“through”) + agō (“to drive, do”). De Vaan traces agō to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”). The TLL notes that grammarians cite it as a compound that keeps the…

It is from Latin per- (“thoroughly”) + fricō (“to rub”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of friō (“to crumble”); he takes fricō to presuppose an adjective Proto-Italic *fri-ko-, probably…

It is formed from Latin per- + misceō (“to mix”). De Vaan traces ⟨misceō⟩ to Proto-Italic *mik-sk-e/o- (“to mix”) and Proto-Indo-European *miḱ-sk-e/o-, cognate with Ancient Greek μείγνυμι (meígnumi…

The origin is unknown. Leumann, cited by the TLL, suspected a borrowing from a derivative of Greek πήρα (pḗra, “leather bag”), and Wiktionary likewise suggests a link with pēra (“bag, satchel”).

It is from Latin perpendō (“to weigh carefully”) + -culum, a noun of instrument. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of pendō (“to hang, weigh”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *pend-e/o- (“to…

It is from Latin per- (“through, thoroughly”) + stringō (“to draw tight; to strip, graze”). De Vaan explains stringō as a merger of separate roots: a sense to tie or tighten, from…

It is from Latin pestis (“plague, pestilence”). The TLL groups it with adjectives in ⟨-lent(o)-⟩ that vary between two forms, such as ⟨violēns⟩ beside ⟨violentus⟩; some refer Laevius' plural…

It is from Latin pix (“pitch”) + -ō. The TLL leaves open whether the verb was made first from the noun or the participle picātus was. De Vaan traces pix to Proto-Italic *pik- and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin pīnus (“pine”) + -eus. De Vaan finds several possible etymologies for that noun, comparing Ancient Greek πίναξ (pínax, “board, plank”) or Ancient Greek πίτυς (pítus, “pine”) and…

It is from Latin pirum (“pear”), the name of the fruit. De Vaan takes pirum as a loanword from a Mediterranean language, like Ancient Greek ἄπιον (ápion, “pear”); a derivation of both from a PIE…

The etymology is unknown. De Vaan considers the comparison of Walde, Hofmann, Ernout and Meillet with a Sanskrit tree name a guess. A first part ⟨pītu-⟩ might belong to the root Proto-Indo-European…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πλακόεντα (plakóenta), adapted from the accusative of πλακόεις (plakóeis) or πλακοῦς (plakoûs, “flat cake”). The TLL notes the change of gender, as in crātēra from…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *plēro- (“most of”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₁-ro- (“full”), an adjective built on the root *pleh₁- (“to fill”). The same root gives plēnus “full”…

It is from Latin pluvius (“rainy”), its feminine used as a noun, with aqua (“water”) or tempestās (“weather”) understood. De Vaan derives the adjective from pluō (“to rain”), which goes back to…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ποιητικός (poiētikós, “creative; poetic”), from ποιητός (poiētós, “made”), from ποιέω (poiéō, “to make”).

It is from Latin pontifex (“pontiff, member of the college of priests”) + -ius. De Vaan reports a consensus that pontifex means “bridge-maker”, from pōns (“bridge”), which he traces to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *porso-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥so-, and corresponds to Ancient Greek πράσον (práson, “leek”). Because botanists think that the leek originated in…

It is from Latin prae- + acuō (“to sharpen”).

It is from Latin prae- + for (“to speak”).

It is from Latin prae- (“in front”) + furnus (“oven”) + -ium. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of fornus, which he takes to be the original form, with ⟨furn-⟩ spreading in part of Roman…

It is from Latin praeter- (“past, beyond”) + fluō (“to flow”). De Vaan traces fluō to Proto-Italic *flow-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰleuH- (“to flow (over)”). Cognate with Ancient Greek φλέω…

It is from Latin prae- (“before, in front”) + ūrō (“to burn”). The verb ūrō goes back to Proto-Italic *ouse/o- (“to burn”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁eus-e/o- (“to burn”). Cognate with Sanskrit ओषति…

It is formed from Latin premō (“to press”). De Vaan derives it from ⟨*preslo-⟩ and takes ⟨*pres-⟩ as the original stem of the verb, from Proto-Italic *pres- and Proto-Indo-European *pr-es- (“to…

It is from Latin prīmus (“first”) + -tia. The TLL notes that most scholars derive it from prīmus, but since in some religious passages it seems to mean the same as praemetium (“first fruits reaped…

Its origin is uncertain. The TLL takes it as a back-formation from Latin properō (“to hurry”), and suggests that the adverb properē may have been formed first; Servius' commentator already derived…

It is from Latin prō- + tendō (“to stretch”), with an instrument suffix: the OLD and the TLL start from an earlier ⟨*prō-ten-slo-⟩, the ⟨-slo-⟩ suffix being the one they also see in pālus (“stake”)…

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin prōvideō (“to foresee; to provide”). The verb is a compound of prō- and videō (“to see”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *wid-ē- and…

It is from Latin pulmentum (“small portion of meat or fish”) + -ārium. De Vaan derives pulmentum from an older Proto-Italic *pelp-mento-, with /e/ in the first syllable as Umbrian pelmner (“of…

It is from Latin pūrgō (“to cleanse”) + -tiō. The origin of that verb, older ⟨pūrigō⟩, is disputed. The OLD derives it from pūrus (“clean”) with a verbal suffix ⟨-igō⟩. De Vaan, following Dunkel…

It is from Latin pūrus (“clean, pure”) + -ter. De Vaan traces pūrus to Proto-Italic *pūro- (“pure”) and Proto-Indo-European *ph₂ú-ro- (“clear, cleansed”).

It is from Latin pūteō (“to stink, be rotten”) + -scō (“inchoative suffix”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of pūs (“pus”); he takes pūteō and its family to be built on an old past…

It is from Latin pūteō (“to rot, stink”) + -or. De Vaan thinks that pūteō and its family are probably based on an old past participle Proto-Italic *pūto- (“rotten”), Proto-Indo-European *puH-to-, of…

It is from Latin quadrāgintā (“forty”) + -ēsimus (“-th”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of quattuor (“four”). Wiktionary traces the numeral ⟨quadrāgintā⟩ to Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin quadri- (“four”) + annus (“year”) + -ium, or quadriennis (“of four years”) with -ium. De Vaan traces quattuor to Proto-Indo-European *kwétuōr (“four”) and annus to Proto-Italic…

It is from Latin quandō (“when”) + cumque (“-ever”).

It is from Latin quercus (“oak”) + -neus, with the same meaning as quernus (“oaken”); Wiktionary instead analyses it as that adjective with the suffix -eus. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of…

It is from Latin quīnquāgēnī (“fifty each”) + -ārius, from the distributive of quīnquāgintā (“fifty”). De Vaan explains the distributive ending ⟨-ēnī⟩ as spread by analogy from the lower numerals…

It is formed from Latin quot (“how many”). De Vaan traces ⟨quot⟩ to Proto-Italic *kʷoti and Proto-Indo-European *kwe/o-ti (“how many”), cognate with Sanskrit कति (káti, “how many”) and Ancient Greek…

It is from Latin rāmus (“branch”) + -ulus (“diminutive suffix”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of the noun. rāmus itself may go back to Proto-Italic *wrā(d)mo- and Proto-Indo-European…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥάφανος (rháphanos). In Greek the word meant cabbage in Attic and radish in later writers, while the usual Greek word for the radish was ῥαφανίς (rhaphanís), which…

It is from Latin redimō (“to buy back; contract for”) + -tor. redimō is a compound of red- and emō (“to buy, take”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *eme/o- (“to take”) and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin re- + fricō (“to rub, chafe”). De Vaan lists fricō from Plautus on among the derivatives of friō (“to crumble”); he thinks the verb presupposes an adjective *fri-ko-, built on…

It is from Latin re- + frīgus (“cold”), with the suffix of first-conjugation verbs, like vulnerō (“to wound”) from vulnus (“wound”). De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of frīgus, which goes back…

It is from Latin re- + frīgēscō (“to grow cold”). frīgēscō belongs with frīgus (“cold”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *srīgos- and Proto-Indo-European *sriHǵ-o/es- (“frost, bitter cold”)…