Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kale/owo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *klH-e/ou̯o- (“bald”). Since ⟨*lw⟩ gives Latin ⟨ll⟩, de Vaan explains, the word must come from ⟨*kalVwo-⟩ with a…

It is from Latin canis (“dog”) + -cula, a diminutive. Priscian lists it among diminutives that do not keep the gender of their base. De Vaan traces the base to Proto-Indo-European *ḱuōn (“dog”). The…

It is from Latin canis (“dog”) + -īnus. De Vaan explains canis as an old consonant stem, older nominative ⟨canēs⟩, going back to Proto-Italic *kō and Proto-Indo-European *ḱuōn (“dog”). Cognate with…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κάνθαρος (kántharos, “beetle; drinking cup”). Köbler, after Frisk, says the further origin of the Greek word is unknown.

It is probably borrowed from Ancient Greek κανθήλιος (kanthḗlios, “pack-ass”), from κανθήλια (kanthḗlia, “pack-saddle”); the OLD and Lewis & Short give the Greek word only as a comparison or a…

It is from Latin canō (“to sing”) + -trīx. Lewis & Short and Georges treat it as the feminine of cantor.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kasnos (“grey”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₁s-no- (“grey”). Together with cascus (“old”) it points to a stem ⟨*kasno-⟩, and it is cognate with the word…

It is from Latin capitālis (“of the head; capital”), its neuter used as a noun. The adjective comes from caput (“head”). Varro explains the priestesses' headband ⟨capital⟩ as named “from the head”.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κάππαρις (kápparis, “caper plant”). Beekes takes the Greek word for a loanword from the East and reports a comparison with the Modern Persian word for the caper…

It is from Latin caper (“he-goat”), its feminine. De Vaan traces caper to Proto-Italic *kapro- (“he-goat”), with cognates in Umbrian kaprum (“he-goat”), Ancient Greek κάπρος (kápros, “wild boar”)…

It is from Latin capiō (“to take”) + -tiō. De Vaan suggests that it may continue an old noun *kap-ti-, from which captīvus may also have been formed. capiō goes back to Proto-Italic *kap-i- (“to…

It is from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”) + -ulus, literally “that which holds”. Wiktionary explains its two senses from the suffix: taken actively it is the handle that one grips, taken passively…

The origin is disputed. De Vaan sets up a root Proto-Italic *kar- or *ker- and compares Welsh ceri (“stone of a fruit”) and Ancient Greek κάρυον (káruon, “nut”). Since the ship's keel is the earlier…

It is from Latin carō (“meat, flesh”) + -ārium, a noun for a place where something is kept. De Vaan reconstructs carō as Proto-Italic *kerō(n) and Proto-Indo-European *k(e)rH-n- (“piece”), and…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kāro- (“dear”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-ro- (“desired, desirable”), a ro-adjective from the root *keh₂- (“to desire, love”). Cognate with Faliscan…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κασία (kasía), which Wiktionary derives from Biblical Hebrew קְצִיעָה (qəṣīʿā), from Aramaic. Köbler likewise calls the Greek word a loan from the East, comparing…

It is from Latin castus (“pure, chaste”) + -ē. De Vaan explains castus as the old past participle of the root of careō (“to lack, be free from”), so that its first sense was “free from”.

It is from Latin castīgō (“to correct, reprimand”) + -tor. De Vaan lists the verb among the words built on castus “pure, chaste”, whose root goes back to Proto-Italic *kas-ē- (“to lack”).

It is formed from Latin castus (“pure”) with a verb ending as in fatīgō (“to tire”), from agō (“to drive, do”). De Vaan lists it with ⟨castus⟩ under careō (“to lack, be free from”), whose participle…

It is from Latin castrum (“fort”), its plural. The singular is, according to de Vaan, from Proto-Italic *kastro- (“part, share”), *ḱs-tro-, from the root Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to cut”)…

It is from Latin catulus (“whelp, puppy”) + -lus, a diminutive. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *kat-elo-; catulus is cognate with Umbrian katel, the name of a sacrificial animal, but he thinks an…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kat-elo-, which also gave Umbrian katel, the name of a certain sacrificial animal. De Vaan notes words of a similar shape in Germanic and Slavic, such as Middle…

It is from Latin cautus (“cautious”) + -ē. cautus is the past participle of caveō (“to beware”); de Vaan derives it from Proto-Italic *kawitos and the verb from Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éye- (“to…

It is from Latin caveō (“to beware, take care”) + -tiō. De Vaan traces caveō to Proto-Italic *kawē- and Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éie- (“to perceive”), comparing Ancient Greek κοέω (koéō, “to…

It is from Latin caveō (“to be on one's guard”) + -tor. De Vaan lists it, with cautus, cautiō and cautēla, among the derivatives of the verb found from Plautus on. The verb goes back to Proto-Italic…

It is from Latin caveō (“to beware”), its past participle, used as an adjective. De Vaan derives ⟨caveō⟩ from Proto-Italic *kawē- and Proto-Indo-European *kouh₁-éye- (“to perceive”), with ⟨cautus⟩…

1. The word for jesting is perhaps from Latin cavus (“hollow”): de Vaan lists it, with a “maybe”, among the derivatives of cavus, and Georges and Wiktionary also take it from cavus, as “empty talk”…

It is from Latin cavillor (“to jest, banter”) + -tiō, and cavillor comes from cavilla (“jesting, banter”). The origin of that noun is disputed: de Vaan lists it, with a “maybe”, among the…

It is formed from Latin celer (“swift”) + -ter. De Vaan traces celer to Proto-Italic *keli- and Proto-Indo-European *kel-i- (“speeding”), cognate with Ancient Greek κέλομαι (kélomai, “to urge on”)…

It is formed from Latin cella (“storeroom”) + -ārius; the noun is the adjective used as a substantive. De Vaan considers that cella may be related to cēlō (“to conceal”).

It is probably borrowed from Ancient Greek κέλης (kélēs, “racehorse; fast boat”), with its ending taken from vēlōx (“swift”). De Vaan gives this as one possibility; the other is that it is a rhyming…

It is from Latin cēnō (“to dine”) + -culum. The verb is made from cēna (“dinner”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kert(e)snā- (“meal”) and Proto-Indo-European *kert-s-nh2- (“portion”)…

It is formed from Latin cēna (“dinner”) + -ō. De Vaan traces cēna (Old Latin ⟨cēsna⟩, reported by Festus) to Proto-Italic *kert(e)snā- (“meal”), cognate with Oscan kersnu (“meal”) and Umbrian śesna…

It is the ordinal of centum (“hundred”), analysed as from Latin centum + -ēsimus. De Vaan explains it as a remaking of an older ⟨*cēsimus⟩, from Proto-Italic *kent-tamo-, on the model of vīcēsimus…

It is from Latin centum (“hundred”) + -iēns, a numeral adverb. De Vaan traces centum to Proto-Italic *kntom and Proto-Indo-European *dḱmtom (“hundred”).

It is perhaps inherited from Proto-Italic *k(e)nt-n-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *k(e)ntH-n-, as de Vaan tentatively reconstructs it, if Sanskrit कन्था (kanthā-, “rag, patched cloth”) is…

1. Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin centuriō (“to divide into centuries”), a verb formed on centuria (“a group of a hundred, century”). De Vaan derives centuria from centum…

1. The verb is formed from Latin centuria (“century, a body of a hundred”) + -ō, the verb ending. centuria is from centum (“hundred”), perhaps on the model of decuria; Wiktionary explains it as…

1. The suffix meaning “taking” is from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”), formed from the root of the verb. De Vaan reconstructs it as Proto-Italic *-kap-s (“seizing”). He thinks the oldest form may be…

It is from Latin Cerēs (“Ceres, goddess of corn”) + -ālis.

It is from Latin cēra (“wax”) + -ō. The noun is probably a loanword from an unknown language, or borrowed directly from Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós, “wax”).

It is formed from Latin certō (“to contend, strive”) + -men. certō is from cernō (“to sift, decide”), whose old past participle certus (“decided”) goes back to ⟨*kritos⟩; de Vaan derives the verb…

It is formed from Latin certō (“to contend, vie”) + -im, the adverbial ending. ⟨certō⟩ comes from certus (“decided”), the old past participle of cernō (“to sift, decide”), which de Vaan traces to…

1. The verb “to contend” is formed from Latin cernō (“to sift, decide”) + -tō, a frequentative built on the old participle certus (“decided”). L&S take the first sense to be “to decide something by…

It is from Latin cervus (“deer, stag”) + -a, the feminine. De Vaan traces cervus to Proto-Italic *ker(a)wo- (“horned animal, stag”) and Proto-Indo-European *ḱer(h₂)-wo- (“having horns”), from the…

It is from Latin cessō (“to hold back, rest”) + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb. That verb is the frequentative of cēdō (“to go, yield”), which de Vaan traces back to Proto-Italic *kesd-e/o-…

It is from Latin cēterus (“the rest, the other”), its neuter singular, used as a noun and as an adverb. De Vaan explains ⟨cēterus⟩ as the particle -ce “here” with Proto-Italic *etero- (“other”)…

De Vaan explains it as a compound of the particle -ce “here”, prefixed as in cedo “give here”, and a form from Proto-Italic *etero- (“other”). The latter is a PIE adjective of comparison…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kēweō, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *keh₁u-ei̯e/o- (“to throw, shake”). Wiktionary describes it as the e-grade iterative of *keh₁w- (“to swing”). Schrijver…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “gut, string of gut”). Köbler connects the Greek word with Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“gut”).

It is from Latin cibārius (“of food”), its neuter plural, used as a noun; the adjective is from Latin cibus (“food”) + -ārius.

The origin is unknown. Wiktionary suggests it may come from a substrate language. Köbler hesitantly compares the root Proto-Indo-European *kenk- (“to gird, bind”).

De Vaan reconstructs it as inherited from Proto-Italic *kiker- and compares Old Armenian սիսեռն (siseṙn, “chickpea”), Albanian thjer (“lentil”) and Ancient Greek κίκερροι (kíkerroi, “pale”), a gloss…

The origin is unknown according to the OLD. De Vaan thinks that the reduplication is part of an onomatopoeic formation, as in cicāda. He doubts a connection with canō (“to sing”), which would need a…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κίναιδος (kínaidos, “catamite; lewd dancer”). Wiktionary notes that the Greek word first meant a foreign dancer whose act featured movements of the buttocks, and…

The etymology is uncertain. De Vaan tentatively reconstructs Proto-Italic *keng- and compares the titles Umbrian śihitu anśihitu, perhaps “girded, ungirded”, whose meaning is itself unsure. Of other…

It is from Latin circum (“around”), the adverb and preposition used as a prefix. De Vaan explains the adverb as the old accusative singular of circus (“circle”), which he takes to be probably a…

It is from Latin circum (“round about”) + circā (“around, about”), a strengthened form of either word. The TLL takes it rather as an accusative singular joined to the accusative plural of the same…

It is from Latin circum- (“around”) + mūniō (“to fortify”). De Vaan lists it, from Plautus on, among the derivatives of moenia (“walls”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *moini- (“protective wall”)…

It is from Latin circum- + spectō (“to look at”), beside circumspiciō. spectō is the frequentative of speciō (“to see”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European…