Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

It is from Latin in- (“in, into”) + eō (“to go”), inherited from Proto-Italic *eneō.

It is formed from Latin inimīcus (“unfriendly; enemy”) + -ia, as amīcitia is from amīcus. The adjective is the negative of ⟨amīcus⟩, which de Vaan derives with amō (“to love”) from Proto-Italic…

It is from Latin ineō (“to go in, enter upon”) + -ium. Ineō is from in- and eō “to go”, from Proto-Italic *ei- (“to go”), Proto-Indo-European *h₁ei- (“to go”). Lewis & Short give its basic sense as…

It is from Latin īnscrībō (“to write on”) + -tiō. De Vaan traces scrībō to Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- (“to carve”) and Proto-Indo-European *skreibʰ-e/o- (“to carve”), comparing Oscan scriftas…

It is from Latin in- + speciō (“to look at”), as Priscian notes. An inscription spells it ⟨isp-⟩.

It is from Latin in- + struō (“to pile up, arrange, build”). Plautus has the shortened perfect ⟨instrūxtī⟩ for ⟨instrūxistī⟩.

It is from Latin in- + saltō (“to leap, dance”). The verb saltō is a frequentative of saliō (“to jump”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *sal-je- (“to jump”) and Proto-Indo-European *sh₂l-ie/o-…

It is from Latin in- (“not”) + tempus (“time”) + -tus. The TLL notes that a simple ⟨tempestus⟩ is found only in Festus' epitome. De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of tempus, which he traces to…

It is from Latin in- (“towards”) + tendō (“to stretch”). Both participles, intentus and intēnsus, occur.

It is the old ablative singular feminine of ⟨*interus⟩ “inner”, inherited from Proto-Italic *ntero- (“interior”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én-teros (“situated within”), from the root of…

It is from Latin inveniō (“to find, discover”) + -tor, from in- and veniō (“to come”). De Vaan traces ⟨veniō⟩ to Proto-Italic *gʷn̥-je/o- (“to come”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥-ye/o- (“to…

It is from Latin in- (“in, on”) + vestiō (“to clothe”), from vestis “garment”.

It is formed from Latin in- (“not”) + victus (“conquered”), the second part being the participle of vincō (“to conquer”). De Vaan traces ⟨vincō⟩ to Proto-Italic *wink- (“to tie, bind, overcome”) and…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *n̥-wīto- (“unwilling”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-wih₁-to- (“not turned to, not pursuing”), with the negative prefix and the root *weyh₁- “to pursue…

De Vaan reconstructs it as inherited from Proto-Italic *juþā and Proto-Indo-European *(H)yudʰ-h₂- (“that which moves”). Walde and Hofmann derived it from the root of iubeō (“to order”) as “moving to…

De Vaan, following Dunkel's analysis, traces it as inherited from Proto-Italic *dju-faos and Proto-Indo-European *diu-bʰeh₂-es- (“having or bringing the light of daytime”), a compound of the word…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *jugom, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to yoke, join”) of iungō. Cognate with Sanskrit युग (yugá…

It is related to lābor “to slip, fall” and labō “to totter”. Köbler compares a root ⟨*lēb-⟩ “to hang limp” (Pokorny 655). For the sense “stain”, Lewis & Short compared Ancient Greek λώβη (lṓbē…

Its origin is uncertain. Schrijver takes it as the regular zero grade of a root Proto-Indo-European *(s)lh₂b-, of which lābor “to glide, slip” would be the full grade. De Vaan finds the ablaut…

1. The verb “to slip” is of uncertain origin; the OLD compares labō “to totter”. Wiktionary suggests Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂b- (“to hang loosely, be weak”), cognate with English sleep and…

It is from Latin lacrima (“tear”) + -ō, the verbal suffix. Lacrima is a dialectal borrowing of Ancient Greek δάκρυμα (dákruma, “tear”), according to Etymonline. The archaic spelling is ⟨lacrumō⟩…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *laiwo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂i-wo- (“left”). Cognate with Ancient Greek λαιός (laiós, “left”) and Old Church Slavonic лѣвъ (lěvŭ, “left”). The…

The origin is uncertain. De Vaan notes that Latvian lãma (“hollow, pool”) and the Latin word could in theory both go back to Proto-Indo-European *leh₂-mo-, but the isolated position of the Latin…

It is from Latin lāmenta (“wailing, laments”) + -or. De Vaan traces lāmenta to Proto-Italic *lāmnto- (“howling”) and Proto-Indo-European *leh₂-mn-to- (“howling, crying”), the root of lātrō (“to…

It is a compound from Latin lāna (“wool”) + -ger (“bearing”). De Vaan traces lāna to Proto-Italic *wlānā- (“wool”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ulh₁-neh₂- (“wool”), literally “plucked material”, and…

It is from Latin lapis (“stone”) + -eus. De Vaan reconstructs ⟨lapis⟩ as Proto-Italic ⟨*la/eped-⟩, compares Umbrian ⟨vapeře⟩ “stone seat” and Ancient Greek λέπας (lépas, “bare rock”), and takes it…

1. The verb is inherited from Proto-Italic *lātrom, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to bark, howl”), an expressive root. The TLL takes it as a verb made from a lost noun in ⟨-tro-⟩ or ⟨-tra-⟩, as…

It is from Latin laus (“praise”) + -ō, the verb suffix. A deponent ⟨laudor⟩ is also found.

It is from Latin lavō (“to wash”), its past participle, used as an adjective. De Vaan traces ⟨lavō⟩ to Proto-Italic *lowa- (“to wash”) and Proto-Indo-European *(le-)louh3- (“to wash”), cognate with…

It is from Latin lēgō (“to send as a deputy, commission”), its perfect passive participle, used as a noun.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *lēni-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁-n(o/i)- (“lazy, slow”). Cognate with Lithuanian lė́nas (“slow, calm”) and Latvian lēns (“slow”), whose meaning is…

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *leifo- (“sacrificial cake”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂le/oibʰ-o-, from a root meaning grease for anointing; it may equally go back to *loifo-. De…

Its origin is unknown. The TLL and the OLD think it may be a foreign word, perhaps Etruscan, the people from whom Rome took much of its augural lore. If the first meaning was “curved”, Pokorny…

It is from Latin locus (“place”) + -ō, the verbal suffix. Locus comes from Old Latin stlocus.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *l(o)ukē- (“to be light”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *luk-éh₁- (“to be light”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“to shine”) of lūx “light”. De…

It is a frequentative verb from Proto-Italic *lukto- (“bent”), Proto-Indo-European *lug-to- (“bent”), the participle of the root Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend, twist”). The OLD compares…

It is from Latin lūgeō (“to mourn”), probably from a stem ⟨*lugos-ri-⟩ built on an s-stem noun, with /sr/ becoming /br/ as in fūnebris (“funereal”). De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek λύχνος (lúkhnos, “lamp”). Köbler sets the Greek word beside Proto-Indo-European *leuk- (“light, to shine”).

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μάχαιρα (mákhaira, “large knife; short sword”). In Homer the Greek word means a large knife or butcher's knife, and later also a short sword or dagger. Beekes notes…

It is borrowed from Doric Greek μαχανά (makhaná, “machine, contrivance”), the Doric form of Attic Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ). Wiktionary calls it a very early borrowing, since Greek ⟨a⟩ was…

It is formed from Latin mactus (“honoured, blessed”) + -ō, the verbal suffix. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *makto- (“honoured”) and tentatively follows Driessen in deriving it from…

It is from Latin maereō (“to grieve, mourn”) + -or. De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *mais- (“sad, grief”) for ⟨maereō⟩ and links it with miser “wretched”, but finds no accepted Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin malus (“bad”) + -ē, the adverbial ending. De Vaan reports Ernout and Meillet's reconstruction Proto-Italic *malo- from Proto-Indo-European *mol-o- (“bad”), semantically fine but…

1. It is from Latin manus (“hand”) + -dō (“to put”), literally “to put in the hand”, with a change of conjugation. Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Italic *manuðō, which also has reflexes in Oscan. 2…

Its origin is uncertain. De Vaan suggests a verb from a noun *māno- “wetness”, comparable with Old Irish móin (“bog, peat”), Welsh mawn (“peat”) and Breton man (“moss”), from a Celtic *māni-, but no…

It is from Latin mare (“sea”) + -īnus. De Vaan traces ⟨mare⟩ to Proto-Italic *mari- (“sea, lake”) and Proto-Indo-European *mor-i- (“sea, lake”), a word for any large body of water; cognate with Old…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros, “boulder; marble”), a word for a rock that later meant white stone and marble. The TLL compares the ending with that of aequor. Köbler compares…

It is formed from Latin māter (“mother”) + -nus. De Vaan traces ⟨māter⟩ to Proto-Italic *mātēr and Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-tr- (“mother”), cognate with Oscan maatreís (“of the mother”), Sanskrit…

It is formed from Latin māter (“mother”) + -ōna, on the model of patrōnus (“patron”). De Vaan derives ⟨māter⟩ from Proto-Italic *mātēr and Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-tr- (“mother”), perhaps in origin…

It is the superlative of magnus “great”, inherited from Proto-Italic *magisVmos, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“great”). The spelling ⟨maxumus⟩ is common in early Latin.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mikaje-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mikH-(e)ie- (“to blink”). Cognate with Welsh edmygaf (“I admire”) and Upper Sorbian mikać (“to blink”), and with…

It is formed from Latin minae (“threats; projecting points”) + -āx. Lewis and Short and Wiktionary derive it from minor (“to jut out; to threaten”) instead. De Vaan explains ⟨minae⟩ as first “part…

It is from Latin miser (“wretched”) + -ia. De Vaan reconstructs ⟨miser⟩ as Proto-Italic *misro-, perhaps Proto-Indo-European *mh₂isro-, possibly connected with maereō but without an accepted…

It is from Latin modicus (“moderate”) + -ē, the adverb of the adjective. modicus is from modus (“measure”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *medo- (“measure, judgement”) and Proto-Indo-European…

It is from Latin modus (“measure”), its ablative, “by measure”, hence “only”. The final vowel was usually shortened by iambic shortening, as in ego, though early writers sometimes scan ⟨modō⟩.

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *moldus (“soft”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus (“soft”), through *moldu̯i- and *mollwi-: Latin remade u-stem adjectives as i-stems. The older u-stem…

It is from Latin moneō (“to warn”) + -trum, the instrumental suffix, from Proto-Italic *monestrom. Festus reports that Aelius Stilo derived it from the verb, as *monestrum, and that Sinnius Capito…

It is from Latin mors (“death”) + -fer (“bearing”), “death-bringing”, from the stem of mors and the root of ferō (“to carry”). Wiktionary takes it as a calque of Ancient Greek θανατηφόρος…

It is from Latin moveō (“to move”) + -tus.

It may be inherited from Proto-Italic *m(e/o)uk-ro-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(h₂)muḱ-ro-, but de Vaan is not sure. He compares Ancient Greek ἀμύσσω (amússō, “to scratch, tear”), ἀμυχή…