Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *makro- (“long, lean”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱ-ró- (“long”). Cognate with Ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “long”), Old English mæger (“lean”) and…

It may be inherited from Proto-Italic *smatlo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *smh₁-tlo- (“wiping”), related to Ancient Greek σμάω (smáō, “to wipe clean”), a stain being a “smear”. The Oxford…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mad-ē-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂d-eh₁- (“to be wet”), a stative verb. Cognate with Ancient Greek μαδάω (madáō, “to be moist”) and, if the…

It is from Proto-Italic *mais- (“sad, grief”), perhaps from a form *meh₂is-, but no acceptable Indo-European source has been found. It is probably related to miser “wretched”, and its participle…

It is from Latin maestus (“sad”) + -itia, like trīstitia. ⟨Maestus⟩ is related to maereō “to grieve”, which de Vaan reconstructs as Proto-Italic *mais- (“sad, grief”).

It is related to maereō “to grieve”, formally its participle used in an active sense. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic ⟨*mais-⟩ “sad, grief” and connects it with miser, but finds no acceptable…

It is a compound from Latin magnus (“great”) + animus (“spirit”), modelled on Ancient Greek μεγάθυμος (megáthumos, “great-hearted”) and Ancient Greek μεγαλόψυχος (megalópsukhos, “great-souled”).

It is from Latin male (“badly”) + dīcō (“to say”), and is often written ⟨male dīcō⟩.

The origin is disputed. Schrijver, followed by de Vaan, makes it an adjective in -eus built on *malalo-, from *mola-lo-, Proto-Indo-European *molH-lo- (“crushing instrument”), from the root…

It is a nursery word, a reduplicated labial nasal with /a/, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mama. Similar words are found everywhere: Ancient Greek μάμμη (mámmē, “mother”), Welsh mam (“mother”)…

It is from prehistoric ⟨*manu-kaps⟩, by syncope, from Latin manus (“hand”) + -ceps (“taker”), from capiō “to take”.

It is from Latin manceps (“purchaser, contractor”) + -ō, the verb suffix; ⟨manceps⟩ is from manus “hand” and capiō “to take”.

It is from Latin manus (“hand”) with a suffix /-ko-/, so “having a defect of the hand”, as peccō was explained from a *peccus with a bad foot. De Vaan thinks it must contain the athematic stem *man-…

It is related to ⟨mānus⟩ “good”, an old word that survives in immānis and ⟨Mānēs⟩, so originally “at the good time”. Wiktionary relates it to mātūrus “ripe, early”, the source of English ⟨mature⟩.

It is from Latin manus (“hand”) and the root of ⟨*pleō⟩ “to fill”, a handful. De Vaan traces ⟨manus⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *mon-u- (“hand”).

The OLD compares it with mantica “knapsack”, and Köbler connects it with ⟨mantum⟩ “cloak”.

It is from Latin mare (“sea”) + -timus, perhaps modelled on fīnitimus “neighbouring” and ⟨extimus⟩. De Vaan traces ⟨mare⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *mor-i- (“sea, lake”).

De Vaan derives it with a possessive suffix from a stem *morei- or *morih₂- “young woman”, so “having a young woman”. Cognate with Welsh morwyn (“girl”) and, from a related stem, Sanskrit मर्य…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mās-, of uncertain origin. Schrijver explains the alternation of the long and short vowel in the stem from an ablauting PIE paradigm Proto-Indo-European…

It is a diminutive from Latin mās (“male”) + -culus. Late texts have a form ⟨mascel⟩.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley cake, dough”), an early borrowing, possibly through Etruscan. Early Latin regularly rendered Greek ⟨ζ⟩ as /ss/, and the old form was kept when…

It is formed from Latin māter (“mother”) + -ia (in the sense “source”). Mater is from Proto-Italic *mātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-tr- (“mother”). The philosophical sense “matter” is a…

It is from Latin māter (“mother”) with the contrastive suffix ⟨*-teros⟩ found also in magister and minister, so “one like a mother”. Lewis & Short explained it as “a second mother”.

It is from Latin mātūrus (“ripe, timely”) + -ō, the verb suffix.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mātu- (“ripeness, right moment”), Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-tu- (“ripeness”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to ripen”), a noun also behind Mātūta, goddess of…

It is from Latin medicīnus (“of healing”), its feminine, used as a noun with ars understood. The adjective is formed from medicus “doctor”. Medicus belongs with medeor “to heal”, which de Vaan…

It is from Latin medicus (“physician”) + -īnus, from medeor “to heal”. De Vaan traces ⟨medeor⟩ to Proto-Italic *med-ē-, Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”), with a shift from “to measure” to…

It is the deponent form from Latin medicō (“to heal”), from medicus “physician”. ⟨Medicus⟩ is from medeor “to heal”, which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”).

It is formed from Latin medeor (“to heal”) + -cus. The verb is from Proto-Italic *med-ē-, from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, take care of”).

It is from Latin medius (“middle”) + ocris (“rugged mountain”), as if “halfway up”.

It is probably a verb built on a participle *meditos, from Latin medeor, in its older sense “to judge”, so that it meant “to judge constantly, to ponder”. The OLD and the TLL connect it with modus…

It is usually taken as a reduplicated form inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to think of, remember”). Cognate with Sanskrit स्मरति (smárati, “remembers”), Ancient Greek μέρμερος…

It is from Latin memorō (“to mention, recall”) + -bilis, ⟨memorō⟩ being from memor “mindful”.

It is from Latin memor (“mindful”) + -ia. Wiktionary derives memor from a reduplicated form of Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to remember”).

It is from Latin memor (“mindful”) + -ō, the verb suffix.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mēns- (“month, moon”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-n-s- (“moon, month”), probably from the root *meh₁- (“to measure”), the moon being the measure of…

It is from Latin mēns (“mind”), stem ⟨ment-⟩, from Proto-Indo-European *méntis, from the root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Wiktionary explains the sense “to lie” from “to be inventive”…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mn̥to-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mn̥-to- (“chin, mouth”), perhaps an old adjective “protruding” from a root *men- “to rise up, project” seen in ēmineō…

It is from Latin mercor (“to trade”) + -tor, ⟨mercor⟩ being from merx “goods”.

It is from Latin mercor (“to trade”) + -ūra; ⟨mercor⟩ is from merx “goods”. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *merk- (“trade, exchange”), also found in Faliscan and Oscan, and Walde and Hofmann…

It is from Latin mercor (“to trade”) + -tus, the suffix of action nouns. Isidore says it is named from ⟨commercium⟩, because things are sold there.

It is from Latin mercēs (“pay, wages”) + -ārius, through *mercēdinārius, later *mercēdnārius, with the cluster /dn/ assimilated to /nn/. The OLD also allows a base *mercēdō, comparing mercēdōnius…

It is from Latin merx (“merchandise”). Lewis and Short and Gaffiot derive it from mereō “to earn”, and Varro derives it from ⟨merēre⟩ and ⟨aes⟩ “money”. Claudian has an irregular accusative ⟨mercem⟩.

It is from Latin merx (“goods”) + -mōnium. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *merk- (“trade, exchange”) for ⟨merx⟩.

It is from Latin merx (“goods, merchandise”) + -ō, the verbal suffix, in deponent form. Etymonline traces merx to an Italic root *merk-, possibly Etruscan.

It is from Latin meretrīx (“prostitute”) + -ius, from mereō “to earn”, so literally of a woman who earns.

It is from Latin mereō (“to earn”) + -trīx, the feminine agent suffix, literally “a woman who earns”. De Vaan lists it among the early derivatives of ⟨mereō⟩, whose origin he considers problematic.

It is from Latin meritus, its neuter, perfect participle of mereō “to earn, deserve”, used as a noun. De Vaan reconstructs ⟨mereō⟩ as Proto-Italic *mer-ē- (“to earn”) and, with a question mark…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mero-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *merH-o- (“remaining, pure”). It has traditionally been compared with Ancient Greek μαρμαίρω (marmaírō, “to flash…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *merk- (“trade, exchange”), a stem also found in Faliscan and Oscan; its further origin is unknown. The god Mercurius was probably the god of exchange…

It is from Latin metus (“fear”) + -culōsus, taken from perīculōsus “dangerous”. The OLD lists it under the older form metūculōsus. Etymonline calls metus of unknown origin.

It is a denominal verb from Proto-Italic *mēti- (“measurement”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-ti- (“measurement”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”). The participle mēnsus…

It is a verb from Latin metus (“fear”), a third-conjugation denominative from a u-stem like statuō. The origin of metus is unclear: Klingenschmitt connects it with Old Irish moth (“astonishment”)…

It is probably from Proto-Italic *migros (“changing”), a verb formed from an adjective. De Vaan takes that adjective as a derivative of the stem Proto-Indo-European *h₂migʷ-, which is also seen in…

The origin is unknown. The ending recalls pedes “foot soldier” and eques “horseman”, from a root “to go”, and de Vaan finds a link with mīlle “thousand”, “one who goes in the thousand”, tempting but…

It is from Latin mīles (“soldier”) + -āris. De Vaan finds the first part of mīles unclear, though it is tempting to connect it with mīlia “thousands”, as one who goes with a thousand.

It is from Latin mīles (“soldier”) + -ārius. De Vaan finds the first part of ⟨mīles⟩ unclear and tentatively connects it with ⟨mīlia⟩ “thousands”.

It is from Latin mīles (“soldier”) + -ia. Isidore derives it from ⟨mīlitēs⟩, or fancifully from ⟨multī⟩ or ⟨mōlēs⟩.

It is from Latin mīles (“soldier”).

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *men-ā- (“projecting part”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stick out, project”), which survives in ēmineō “to stand out”. The sense went from…