Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

1. Its origin is uncertain. The ending points to an old neuter noun “sacrificial act” that came to mean “priest”, as augur did; it may continue Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₂(d)-mn̥ (“sacrifice”)…

It is from Latin flamma (“flame”) + -eus. De Vaan lists it under flagrō “to burn” and derives flamma from Proto-Italic *flagma, Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥g-mh₂- (“flame”), comparing Ancient Greek…

It is from Latin flamma (“flame”) + -fer (“bearing”). De Vaan derives the noun from ⟨*flag-ma⟩, the stem of flagrō (“to burn”), and traces it to Proto-Indo-European *bʰlg-mh₂- (“flame”); the suffix…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *flāwo-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-uo- (“yellow”). It is often compared with Old High German blāo (“blue”), Old English blāw (“blue”) and Middle…

It is formed from Latin fleō (“to weep”) + -tus of action nouns. De Vaan traces ⟨fleō⟩ to Proto-Italic *flē- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to bleat, cry”), cognate with Latvian blêt (“to…

It is formed from Latin fluō + -men, “that which flows”. De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Italic *flow-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleuH- (“to flow over”), comparing Ancient Greek φλύω…

1. The adjective is inherited from Proto-Italic *foiðos (“afraid”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to frighten, be afraid”). De Vaan, following Walde–Hofmann and Nussbaum, derives it from a…

It is probably formed from Latin furnus (“oven”), an oven with an arched or domed top, and is related to fornāx (“furnace”). Wiktionary reconstructs ⟨*fornikos⟩, vaulted like a furnace. Etymonline…

It is from Latin fors (“chance, luck”), its ablative. De Vaan reconstructs ⟨fors⟩ as Proto-Italic *forti- (“luck”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥-ti- (“bearing”), from the root of ⟨ferō⟩…

It is from Latin fodiō (“to dig”), its feminine participle, short for ⟨fossa terra⟩ “dug earth”. Varro derived it from digging (⟨ā fodiendō⟩). De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *foþ-i- and…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *frakse/ino-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bhrHǵ-s-e/ino-, formed with the suffix ⟨*-eno-⟩ or ⟨*-ino-⟩, as are alnus, farnus and quernus. All the etymologies…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *freme/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem-e/o- (“to hum, rumble”), though the exact shape of the root is not certain. Cognate with Welsh brefu (“to…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *srīgos-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *sriHǵ-os- (“frost, bitter cold”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ῥῖγος (rhîgos, “cold, frost”). Because the zero grade of…

It is from Latin frōns (“foliage”) + -ōsus. The origin of frōns is unclear: de Vaan doubts a comparison with Ancient Greek θρόνα (thróna, “herbs, flowers”), which needs an extra suffix, and allows…

1. The foliage is of uncertain origin. Walde–Hofmann hesitantly compared Germanic words for “brim, bud”, and Solmsen compared Russian дёрн (dërn, “turf”) and Ancient Greek θρόνα (thróna, “herbs…

It is from Latin frūx (“fruit, crops”) + -fer (“bearing”). ⟨-fer⟩ is from ferō (“to carry”).

It is from Latin frūstrā (“in vain”) + -ō, the verb suffix.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *fugā (“flight”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰugéh₂ (“flight”), from the root of fugiō “to flee”, *bʰewg- (“to flee”). Cognate with Ancient Greek φυγή…

It is from Latin fulgeō (“to flash, shine”), its present participle, used as an adjective. The verb is older ⟨fulgere⟩, going back to Proto-Italic *folgō and to a root Proto-Indo-European *bʰlg-…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan finds only theoretical preforms, perhaps Proto-Italic *fe/olawo- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰe/olH-uo- (“yellow”). He rejects the often cited link with Lithuanian…

It is from Latin furō (“to rage”) + -ia. The origin of furō is unknown: many etymologies have been proposed, but none is clearly better than the others. Isidore of Seville explained the name of the…

The origin is uncertain: de Vaan finds that none of the many proposals is clearly the best. The OLD and Wiktionary compare Slavic words for a storm such as Russian буря (burja, “storm”), and…

It is from Latin fūr (“thief”) + -tim, the adverbial suffix, or from fūrtum “theft”, literally “like a thief”. De Vaan traces ⟨fūr⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *bʰōr (“thief”).

It is apparently from Latin fundō (“to pour”) + -ilis, from the stem ⟨fut-⟩ seen in fūtis (“water vessel”). Georges explains it as “easily poured out”, from the supine ⟨futum⟩ of the verb…

It is from Latin Gallus (“a Gaul”) + -ia, the land of the Gauls. The medieval use for Wales comes from confusion with Wallia.

It is formed from Latin gemō (“to groan”) + -tus, an action noun. The origin of gemō is uncertain: most scholars connected it with Ancient Greek γέμω (gémō, “to be full”), which de Vaan finds hard…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *g(e)mro-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵm̥-ro- (“son-in-law”). De Vaan explains the Latin form through ⟨*gemros⟩ > ⟨*genros⟩, with the nasal assimilated to…

It is from Latin genus (“birth, descent, kind”) + -ō, the verb suffix. Etymonline traces ⟨genus⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to give birth, beget”).

It is from Latin gignō (“to beget”) + -trīx, the feminine of genitor (“father”); de Vaan notes that the form ⟨genetrix⟩ requires a stem at least as old as ⟨*genetor⟩. Wiktionary takes it back to…

It is formed from Latin gignō (“to beget”) + -ālis. The TLL derives it from the same noun that appears in the name of the goddess Genita Mana, in Oscan genetaí and in Ancient Greek γενετή (geneté…

It is formed from Latin gignō (“to beget”) + -tor. Wiktionary and de Vaan also consider it an inherited agent noun Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tōr (“begetter, parent”), matching Ancient Greek γενέτωρ…

It is from Latin germen (“sprout, offshoot”), perhaps from *germ(i)nānus. It is unrelated to the ethnic name Germānus “German”, which is of uncertain origin.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *graðus, from the root Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”), and belongs with the verb gradior “to step”. Georges and Gaffiot derive it directly from the…

It is from Latin gubernō (“to steer”) + -tor, an agent noun. Gubernō is from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer”). Saalfeld compares Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “helmsman”).

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer”).

It is from Latin habeō (“to have, hold”) + -ilis, or from habeō with -bilis and haplology. De Vaan derives habeō from Proto-Italic *χab/f-ē- (“to have taken, hold”), and Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ-…

It is a compound of *haru- “entrails” and a second part “observer”, from Latin speciō (“to look”). The first part is a u-stem of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰrH- (“intestines”), cognate with Sanskrit हिरा…

It is from Latin haud (“not”) + quāquam (“in any way”), the second part being the ablative feminine of quisquam (“anyone”). De Vaan calls the origin of haud uncertain; he reports Eichner's proposal…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr). Köbler compares ἔχειν (échein, “to hold, have”).

It is an expressive interjection; compare ēheu. Köbler sets it beside the Indo-European interjection that Pokorny gives as ⟨*eheu⟩.

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὅμηρος (Hómēros). Etymonline notes that the Greek name is identical to ὅμηρος (hómēros, “a hostage”), which is said to have meant “blind” in some dialects, the…

It is from Latin horreō (“to bristle, shudder”) + -scō, an inchoative verb. De Vaan traces horreō to Proto-Italic *χors-ē- (“to be stiff”) and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰr̥s-eh₁- (“to be stiff…

It is from Latin horreō (“to bristle, shudder”) + -idus. Horreō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰers- (“to bristle”).

The origin is uncertain. Festus connects it with hostiō (“to strike”), so that it would be “the one struck”, and the TLL allows a link with hostiō and hostis. Wiktionary instead derives it from…

It is related to homō “human being”, though the exact formation is unclear. Homō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰm-ōn (“earthling”), from the word for earth, and Wiktionary suggests hūmānus…

It is a frequentative from Latin iaciō (“to throw”) + -tō.

It is formed from Latin iaciō (“to throw”) + -ulum, “a thing for throwing”, the instrument suffix. Varro says it is made to be thrown. De Vaan derives ⟨iaciō⟩ from Proto-Italic *jak-i- (“to throw”)…

It is from Latin iānus (“arched passage”), perhaps an old plural of a u-stem Proto-Italic *jānu- (“door”), Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂-n-u- (“passage”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to…

It has no etymology. Köbler and Wiktionary take it from a lost non-Indo-European language of the Mediterranean. Wiktionary notes that Romance forms such as elce start with a vowel that is not the…

It is perhaps from ⟨*illoic⟩, an old locative of direction, from Latin illic (“that one”), compare Ancient Greek ποῖ (poî, “whither”). Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Italic *e/olloike, from ille…

It is formed from Latin in- (“against, into”) + pellō (“to push, drive”). De Vaan derives pellō from Proto-Italic *pelna- (“to approach”), Proto-Indo-European *pl-n(e)-h₂- (“to approach”), with a…

It is from Latin imperium (“command”) + -ōsus.

It is from Latin imperō (“to command”) + -ium, ⟨imperō⟩ is from in- and parō “to prepare, arrange”. It is also spelled ⟨inperium⟩, as in the Lex Bantina and the Lex repetundarum.

It is from Latin in- + partiō (“to share, divide”), with the vowel weakened in the compound. partiō is from pars (“part”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *parti- (“part”); Schrijver explains…

It is formed from Latin impetō (“to attack”), perhaps from ⟨*impetītus⟩ shortened by haplology. The verb is in- with petō “to make for, aim at”, which de Vaan derives from Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin in- (“in, on”) + premō (“to press”). It is also spelled ⟨inprimō⟩.

It is formed from Latin impudēns (“shameless”) + -ia. The adjective is ⟨in-⟩ “not” with the participle of pudeō (“to be ashamed”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *pud-ē- (“to be ashamed or…

It is from Latin in- + cingō (“to gird, surround”). De Vaan calls the etymology of cingō uncertain: of the cognates proposed, Lithuanian kinkýti (“to bridle horses”) fits the meaning, but its root…

It is formed from Latin in- + cohum, a rare word recorded by grammarians. De Vaan notes that ⟨cohum⟩ “vault of the sky” is attested only in Ennius and the glosses and its first meaning is obscure…

It is from Latin in- + quatiō (“to shake, strike”). De Vaan traces ⟨quatiō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kwat-i-, with a possible root ⟨*ku(o)t-⟩ seen in Old High German scutten (“to shake”); because of its…