200–101 BC

Romanian words from Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century BC

63 Romanian words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 2nd century BC, earliest Latin record first.

arie
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin area

1. The word for the threshing floor is inherited from Latin ārea (“open space, threshing floor”). It survives south of the Danube too: Aromanian arye and Megleno-Romanian aryie. The Romance cognates…
boroacă
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin verruca

1. The word for the goby is of unknown origin. Wiktionary mentions a possible link with the homonym meaning “swelling”, but only as a conjecture. 2. The word for a swelling is probably inherited…
falce
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin falx

It is inherited from Latin falx (“sickle, scythe”) (accusative falcem). The measure was originally as much land as one could mow with the scythe in a day. Ciorănescu treats it as the regular outcome…
falcă
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin falx

It is inherited from Latin falx (“sickle, scythe”) (accusative ⟨falcem⟩); the change of meaning from “sickle” to “jaw” is explained by the curved shape of the jawbone. Ciorănescu compares Sardinian…
foarfece
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin forfex

It is inherited from Latin forficem (“shears, scissors”), the accusative of the noun. Ciorănescu thinks the word was first a plural only, and that the feminine foarfecă is a later singular made on…
funie
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin funis

It is inherited from Latin fūnis (“rope, cable”) (accusative ⟨fūnem⟩). The old form was fune. The origin of the Latin word is uncertain: de Vaan suggests an o-grade derivative of the root of fīlum…
fân
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin fenum

It is inherited from Latin fēnum (“hay”). Wiktionary traces the Latin word to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-; de Vaan accepts this root, which meant “to suckle” and also “to bring forth”, only if…
gros
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin grossus

It is inherited from Latin grossus (“thick”), a colloquial Latin adjective attested in this sense from the 1st century AD and often compared with crassus (“thick, fat”). Its further origin is…
mulge
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin mulgeo

It is inherited from Latin mulgeō (“to milk”). DER and Wiktionary derive it from the popular infinitive of the third conjugation, *mulgĕre, which replaced the classical second-conjugation…
must
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin mustum

It is inherited from Latin mustum (“new wine, must”). Candrea and Densusianu give the same etymon. It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian mustu and Megleno-Romanian most. Albanian mušt is also…
pai
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin palea

It is inherited from Latin palea (“chaff, straw”). The Latin feminine was taken as a neuter plural, giving Romanian paie “straw”, and the singular “a straw” was formed back from it. The Latin word…
paltin
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin platanus

It is inherited from Latin platanus (“plane tree”), which is from Ancient Greek πλάτανος (plátanos). Ciorănescu supposes a variant Vulgar Latin *plătinus with metathesis of /l/, which Wiktionary…
poarcă
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin porca

It is inherited from Latin porca (“sow”), the feminine of porcus (“pig”). Pușcariu and the REW give the same etymon. The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian poarcã, Megleno-Romanian poarcă…
pulpă
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin pulpa

It is inherited from Latin pulpa (“fleshy part of the body, lean meat”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian pulpă, Megleno-Romanian pulpă and Istro-Romanian pupę. Its cognates include…
părâng
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin panicum

It is inherited from Latin pānicum (“Italian millet”), the Latin name of foxtail millet. Ciorănescu follows Philippide, Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW in this etymology. The Latin word…
ram
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin ramus

It is inherited from Latin rāmus (“branch, bough”). The Latin noun probably comes from an older form related to rādīx (“root”). De Vaan points out that a related Greek word could mean either…
scaun
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin scamnum

It is inherited from Latin scamnum (“stool, bench”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian scamnu, Megleno-Romanian scand and Istro-Romanian scånd. Its Romance cognates include Italian…
strânge
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin stringo

It is inherited from Latin stringō (“to draw tight, bind”). It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian stringu and Megleno-Romanian string. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian strengar, Italian…
biet
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin vietus

Its origin is disputed, and DELR calls it uncertain. DELR gives two probable sources. The first is inherited from Latin viētus (“withered, shrivelled, weak”), proposed by Diez and Densusianu and…
sân
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin sinus

It is inherited from Latin sinus (“fold, cavity, bosom”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian sin, Megleno-Romanian sin and Istro-Romanian sir. The Romance cognates include Italian…
tuse
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin tussis

It is inherited from Latin tussis (“cough”). Pușcariu and the REW give the same source. The Latin word may come from tundō (“to beat”), with the doubled ⟨ss⟩ of an imitative word, or be imitative…
brace
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin bracae

It is inherited from Latin brācae (“breeches, trousers”), a word Latin took from Celtic. The Latin word survives in every Romance language: Italian brache, French braies, and Spanish braga and…
ciumă
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin cyma

It is probably inherited from Latin cȳma (“bud, shoot, top of a plant”), which is from Ancient Greek κῦμα (kûma, “swelling; wave”). The word first meant “swelling”, a sense that survives in regional…
năsut
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin nasutus

MDA2, DEX and DLR take it as inherited from Latin nāsūtus (“having a long nose; witty”). Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW give the same etymon, and compare Italian nasuto, Logudorese…
pănăta
180 BC–130 BC

from Latin paeniteo

It is inherited from Latin paeniteō (“to cause regret; to regret”), with a change of conjugation. The etymology is Candrea and Densusianu's and Tiktin's, and the REW has it; Tiktin gives it with…
încumeta
180 BC–130 BC

from Latin committo

It continues inherited from Latin committō (“to join; to entrust, (reflexive) to venture”), according to DER, Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu and the DA. The REW records the reflexive Latin sense “to…
înfige
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin infigo

It is inherited from Latin īnfīgō (“to fix in, fasten”), a compound of fīgō (“to fix”) with the prefix in-. The participle înfipt continues a Latin *īnfictum, formed for īnfīxum on the model of…
cale
170 BC–90 BC

from Latin callis

It is inherited from Latin callis (“mountain path, track”). The Latin word meant a rough track or path; the DA glosses it “path through mountains or woods”. De Vaan links it with callum (“hard…
luceafăr
170 BC–90 BC

from Latin lucifer

It is inherited from Latin lūcifer (“light-bringing; the morning star”), continued through its accusative lūciferum. The Latin word is formed on lūx (“light”) with -fer (“-carrying”), a calque of…
lânced
170 BC–90 BC

from Latin languidus

It is inherited from Latin languidus (“faint, weak”). The Latin adjective is formed from langueō (“to be faint, weary”) with the suffix -idus. Ciorănescu notes that among the Romance languages only…
brumă
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin bruma

It is inherited from Latin brūma (“winter solstice; winter”). The Latin word goes back to *breuima (“shortest”) (of the day), an old superlative of brevis (“short”). It survives south of the Danube…
casă
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin casa

1. The word for a house is inherited from Latin casa (“hut, cottage”). The DA notes that in Vulgar Latin the word took the general sense of house, replacing domus and aedes. The origin of the Latin…
deșidera
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin desidero

It is inherited from Latin dēsīderō (“to long for, to desire”). DELR notes that the Latin verb was probably formed, like cōnsīderō, on sīdus (“star, constellation”), though how the sense developed…
pumn
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin pugnus

It is inherited from Latin pugnus (“fist”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian pulmu, Megleno-Romanian pulm and Istro-Romanian pumnu. The Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian forms were…
răspuns
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin responsum

It is inherited from Latin respōnsum (“answer, reply”), a noun made from the past participle of respondeō (“to answer”). Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of răspunde but also takes it from…
scriptură
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin scriptura

It is inherited from Latin scrīptūra (“writing”). Aromanian scriptură is the same word. Its Romance cognates include Italian scrittura, French écriture, Occitan escritura, Catalan escriptura…
frâu
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin frenum

It is inherited from Latin frēnum (“bridle, bit, reins”). The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian frãn, with the forms fãrnu and frãnu, and Megleno-Romanian frǫn. Its Romance cognates…
rămâne
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin remaneo

It is inherited from Latin remaneō (“to stay behind, remain”), formed from re- and maneō (“to stay”). The older infinitive rămânea continues the second conjugation of the Latin verb; like ține, the…
țărm
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin termen

The modern form is a singular taken from the plural ⟨țărmuri⟩ of the older țărmur. Its likely source is inherited from Latin termen (“boundary stone”). Tiktin compares the sense shift with margine…
carte
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin charta

It is inherited from Latin charta (“papyrus leaf, paper; letter”), a word found in all the Romance languages. The Romanian form was rebuilt from the plural ⟨cărți⟩ of an older singular *cartă, on…
cep
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin cippus

It is inherited from Latin cippus (“stake, post; boundary stone”), which DELR also cites in a vulgar form. The Latin word may go back to a noun Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeip-o- (“pole, stick”) and be…
lard
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin lardum

It is inherited from Latin lardum (“bacon fat”), the contracted form of lāridum. Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW agree on it. It has a match in Istro-Romanian lǫrd, and Romance cognates…
lăcrimos
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin lacrimosus

It is inherited from Latin lacrimōsus (“tearful, full of tears”), an adjective formed in Latin on lacrima (“tear”) with -ōsus. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of lacrimă, and notes that…
zice
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin dico

It is inherited from Latin dīcō (“to say”). The verb survives in all four branches: Aromanian dzîc, Megleno-Romanian zic and Istro-Romanian zic. Its Romance cognates include Italian dire, French…
ager
120 BC–67 BC

from Latin agilis

It is inherited from Latin agilis (“nimble, quick”), which changed its declension in Romanian. The DA reconstructs an intermediate form *agere, which then changed its declension. Hasdeu found the…
afla
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin afflo

It is inherited from Latin afflō (“to blow or breathe upon”), formed from ad- (“to, towards”) and flō (“to blow”). The sense “to find” arose already in Vulgar Latin and survives in several Romance…
curcubetă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin cucurbita

It is inherited from Latin cucurbita (“gourd”). DELR takes the variant cucúrbătă (plural ⟨cucúrbete⟩) as the basic form. The Latin word is probably a loanword, perhaps related to cucumis…
fag
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin fagus

1. The word for the beech is inherited from Latin fāgus (“beech”). The Latin word comes from *fāgos, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵos (“beech tree”), the source of English beech as well. It…
iarnă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin hiberna

It is inherited from Latin hīberna (“winter quarters, wintry times”), short for the phrase tempora hīberna (“wintry times”). Wiktionary and NODEX start from the singular, Late Latin hībernum…
juncă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin iuvenca

It is inherited from Latin iuvenca (“heifer”), the feminine of iuvencus (“young bull”). Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of junc, adding that it may continue the Latin word, as Pușcariu and…
legumă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin legumen

It is inherited from Latin legūmen (“pulse, leguminous plant”). Its Romance cognates include Italian legume, Portuguese legume, Old French leun and Spanish legumbre. The Latin word is of uncertain…
lăptucă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin lactuca

It is inherited from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”). Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu (article 941), Candrea–Densusianu (947) and the REW for this. The Latin plant name is formed on lac (“milk”) with the suffix…
mugi
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin mugio

It is inherited from Latin mūgiō (“to low, bellow”). DER cites Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW for this etymology. It survives as Aromanian mudzescu too. Romance cognates are Italian…
mătrice
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin matrix

It is inherited from Latin mātrīcem (“womb”), the accusative case of the Latin noun. The Latin word is formed on māter (“mother”) and meant a breeding animal and the womb. The word survives south of…
nalbă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin malva

It is inherited from Latin malva (“mallow”). Latin initial /m/ became /n/ by dissimilation from the second labial, as in furnică and năframă. The same change appears in Venetian nalba and Sardinian…
prier
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin Aprilis

It is inherited from Latin Aprīlis (“April”), the popular name of the month beside the learned aprilie. Candrea–Densusianu derive it through the stages ⟨*aprire⟩, with Latin /l/ becoming /r/ between…
spin
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin spinus

1. The word for the thorn is inherited from Latin spīnus (“blackthorn”). The Latin noun comes from spīna (“thorn”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp point”). It survives in Aromanian schin…
suge
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin sugo

It is inherited from Latin sūgō (“to suck”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian sug, Megleno-Romanian sug and Istro-Romanian sugu. Its Romance cognates include Italian suggere and…
tată
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin tata

It is inherited from Latin tata (“dad”), a word of children's speech; Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *tatás. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian tatã, Megleno-Romanian tată and…
teacă
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin theca

It is inherited from Latin thēca (“case, box, sheath”), itself from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “case, box, receptacle”). The Greek noun belongs to τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”). The word…

All Romanian words inherited from Latin, by century →