Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

1. The noun is from Latin vertō (“to turn”) + -tus, which forms action nouns: it was first a turning, then the furrow where the plough turns. The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wertō, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”). Until about the middle of the 2nd century BC the regular form was vortō. Cognate with Sanskrit वर्तते…

Its origin is uncertain. De Vaan follows André, who takes vēsīca as the original form, the spelling vēnsīca being a Vulgar Latin confusion of ⟨ēs⟩ and ⟨ēns⟩. André compares vīsīre “to fart softly”…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *we(k)spero-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ue-k(ʷ)sp-er-o- (“evening”), a compound of an element *ue- and a word for “night”, Proto-Indo-European *k(ʷ)sep-…

Its origin is uncertain; many etymologies have been proposed, all unsatisfactory in meaning, according to Serbat. De Vaan cites Serbat's own view that it was the farmyard where animals were fed…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan finds attractive Muller's *verstīgium, from the root of verrō “to sweep”, so first “track, furrow”, with vestīgō from *w(e)rsti-Hg- “to draw a furrow”. A link with…

It is from Latin vestiō (“to clothe”) + -mentum, from vestis “clothing”. De Vaan traces ⟨vestis⟩ to Proto-Italic *wes-ti- (“clothes”), from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to wear”), cognate with…

It is from Latin vestis (“clothing”) + -iō, the verb suffix. Virgil has an old imperfect ⟨vestībat⟩, and Prudentius an infinitive ⟨vestīrier⟩.

The origin is uncertain: the OLD and Lewis & Short call it doubtful. The older form is votō, used in the manuscripts of Plautus. Wiktionary suggests it is perhaps inherited from Proto-Italic *wotāō…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wetos- (“year”), Proto-Indo-European *wet-os- (“year”), a neuter noun “year” used as an adjective, “having years”. The old nominative veter in Ennius was remade…

It is from Latin vicis (“turn, change, place”) + -ārius. Etymonline traces vicis to Proto-Indo-European *weik- (“to bend, wind”).

It is from Latin vīcus (“village, quarter”) + -īnus. De Vaan derives ⟨vīcus⟩ from Proto-Italic *weik-o- (“settlement”), Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- (“settlement”), cognate with Ancient Greek οἶκος…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wik- (“turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wik- (“a turn”), perhaps from a root meaning “to tie, turn”. The simple forms point to a root noun, while for vicissim an…

It is from Latin victor (“conqueror”) + -ia, from vincō “to conquer”. Vincō continues Proto-Italic *winkō, from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to fight, conquer”).

It is from Latin vīvō (“to live”) + -tus, the suffix of action nouns. Plautus has a genitive ⟨victī⟩, Varro ⟨victuis⟩, and Lucilius a dative ⟨victū⟩.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *weikos (“settlement”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- (“settlement”). Old Latin inscriptions have veicus and vecus. Cognate with Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wiþowo-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wi-dʰh₁-ew-o- (“separated”). Latin and Greek have an adjective for both sexes, while most other languages have only a feminine…

It is from Latin vigilō (“to stay awake, keep watch”), its present participle, from vigil “awake, watchful”.

It is from Latin vigil (“awake, watchful”) + -ia.

It is from Latin vinciō (“to bind”) + -ulum. De Vaan derives it from the verbal stem ⟨*u̯ink-⟩, with either ⟨*-(e)lo-⟩ or ⟨*-tlo-⟩; he reconstructs ⟨vinciō⟩ as Proto-Italic *wink- (“to tie, bind”)…

It is from Latin vīnum (“wine”) + dēmō (“to take away”) + -ia, through ⟨*vīnodēmia⟩.

It is the noun use of vīneus (“of wine”), from vīnum (“wine”) and -eus. ⟨vīnum⟩ is inherited from Proto-Italic *wīno-, which de Vaan traces to an ⟨n⟩-stem ⟨*u̯ih₁-n-⟩ “vine, wine”, from a root “to…

It is from Latin violentus (“violent”) + -ia. Köbler traces it to vīs “force”.

It is apparently from Latin violō (“to treat with violence”) + -entus (“full of”). Lewis and Short and Köbler connect it with vīs “force”.

Its origin is uncertain. It has been derived from *wizg-ā-, Proto-Indo-European *uis-g-, and compared with Germanic words for bundles and sticks, Old Norse visk (“wisp”) and Old High German wisc…

It is a frequentative from Latin vīsō (“to go to see”) + -itō, ⟨vīsō⟩ being from videō “to see”. Vīsō continues Proto-Italic *weidsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wéydseti, from Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Proto-Italic *weidsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wéydseti, an s-desiderative of the root Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”) of videō “to see”. Plautus often writes ⟨viss-⟩.

It is from Latin vīta (“life”) + -ālis.

Its origin is uncertain. Walde and Hofmann and the OLD took it from *vi-itō “to go out of the way”, but frequentative verbs of that type are recent, which rules out an old form. De Vaan prefers a…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Italic *wiks, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wik- (“bond, tie; turn”). De Vaan follows Walde and Hofmann in deriving it from the root of vincō: ⟨*wik-s⟩…

It is from Latin vocō (“to call, name”) + -bulum, the instrumental suffix.

It is from Latin volvo (“to roll, turn”) + -men, literally a thing that is rolled up. Wiktionary takes it back to Proto-Italic *welūmən, from Proto-Indo-European *wéluHmn̥, and compares Ancient…

It is from Latin volō (“to want”) + -tās, on the old present participle stem *welont-, the suffix being ⟨-(t)ās⟩; compare volēns “willing”. Isidore says the general name of all legal instruments is…

It is from Latin vomō (“to vomit”) + -tus, with the suffix of action nouns. The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *weme/o- and Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to vomit”).

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wow-eje/o- (“to promise”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁uogʷʰ-eie- (“to promise”), an iterative-causative verb from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ- (“to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wōkʷs, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs (“voice, speech”), a root noun of *wekʷ- (“to speak”). The verb vocāre “to call” was made from its oblique stem…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *welanos, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“to hit”), and cognate with vellō “to pluck”. The OLD compares, with doubt, Welsh gweli (“wound”), Old Norse…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ζώνη (zṓnē, “belt, girdle”). The Greek word comes from Proto-Indo-European *yoh₃snéh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₃s- (“to gird”). Isidore of Seville already…

It is formed from Latin ab- (“away”) + rumpō (“to break”). De Vaan traces ⟨rumpō⟩ to Proto-Italic *runp- (“to break”) and the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *Hru-n-p- of a root *Hrewp-, and…

It is from Latin ad- (“to, towards”) + capiō (“to take”). The verb capiō is from Proto-Italic *kap-i- (“to seize”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂p-i- or from a…

It is from Latin acuō (“to sharpen”) + -men. Acuō is related to acus “needle”. Douglas Q. Adams has compared it with Tocharian B akwam, which he derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-u-mn-.

It is from Latin acūtus (“sharp, pointed”) + -ē, the adverb of the participle of acuō (“to sharpen”).

It is from Latin ad- + uncus (“hooked”). De Vaan traces uncus to Proto-Italic *onko- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂onḱ-o- (“hook”), comparing Sanskrit अङ्क (aṅká-, “hook, clamp”) and Ancient Greek…

It is from Latin adversus (“turned towards, opposite”) + -ārius. Adversus is the participle of advertō “to turn towards”. An inscription of about 123 BC has the spellings advorsārius and arvorsārius.

It is from Latin ad- (“to”) + vocō (“to call”). An inscription has a future ⟨advocāpit⟩.

It is from Latin aequus (“level, equal”) + -ālis.

It is from Latin aequus (“level, flat”). De Vaan reconstructs ⟨aequus⟩ as probably ⟨*aikwos⟩, without a convincing etymology. Wiktionary suggests that the shift to “sea” may have been helped by the…

It is from Latin aequus (“level, equal, fair”), its neuter, used as a noun. De Vaan finds no convincing etymology for ⟨aequus⟩, probably from ⟨*aikwos⟩.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr, “mist, air”). In Greek it first meant “mist, haze”, and later “atmosphere”. Wiktionary traces the Greek word to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “upper air, sky”). Köbler connects the Greek word with αἴθω (aíthō, “to kindle”) and the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- (“to burn”).

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek αἴθρα (aíthra, “clear sky”). Wiktionary gives it as from αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “sky, ether”). Beekes lists the Greek word, Ionic αἴθρη (aíthrē), as a derivative of αἰθήρ…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *aiwom (“period, age”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“long time, lifetime”). The TLL thinks it was first the neuter of an adjective. Cognate with Sanskrit…

It is from Latin ad- (“to”) + ferō (“to carry, bring”), with the suppletive perfect ⟨attulī⟩ and participle ⟨allātum⟩.

It is from Latin agō (“to drive, do”), its imperative singular, used as an interjection. De Vaan traces agō to Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o- (“to drive, lead”). Lewis &…

It is from Latin agō (“to drive, lead”) + -men, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵ-mn̥ (“train, course”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive”). Cognate with Sanskrit अज्मन् (ájman…

It is contracted from an earlier *axla, from Latin axis (“axle”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- (“axis”), and is related to āxilla “armpit”. The OLD compares Old English eaxl (“shoulder”) and…

It is from Latin alter (“the other”) + -nus.

It is from Latin altus (“high”) + sonō (“to sound”) + -us, a poetic compound meaning “sounding on high”. Wiktionary and the TLL take the first part as the adverb altē (“on high”).

It is a compound from Latin altē (“on high”) + tonāns, ⟨tonāns⟩ being the present participle of tonō “to thunder”, or of altus “high” with it.

It is borrowed from Gaulish ambaxtos (“vassal, high-ranking servant”), from Proto-Celtic *ambaxtos (“servant”), which Wiktionary derives from a compound meaning “to drive around”, of…