300–201 BC

Romanian words from Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

459 Romanian words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 3rd century BC, earliest Latin record first.

măiestru
299 BC–200 BC

from Latin magister

It is inherited from Latin magister (“master, teacher”), perhaps through a Vulgar Latin form *maistrum. Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu (no. 1016), Candrea–Densusianu (no. 1043), the REW and Tiktin, and…
cince
280 BC–260 BC

from Latin cimex

It is inherited from Latin cīmex (“bedbug”), continued from its accusative cīmicem. Drăganu identified the Latin source, and Ciorănescu also cites the DA and Pușcariu for it. MDA2 gives the etymon…
câine
280 BC–260 BC

from Latin canis

It is inherited from Latin canis (“dog”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian câne, Megleno-Romanian cǫini and Istro-Romanian câre. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian kuon, Italian…
foame
280 BC–260 BC

from Latin fames

It is inherited from Latin famēs (“hunger”). The diphthong ⟨oa⟩ is unexpected, since Latin stressed /a/ normally stays /a/, and it has been much discussed. Tiktin and the DA explain the /o/ by the…
ger
280 BC–260 BC

from Latin gelu

It is inherited from Latin gelū (“frost, cold”), also written gelum. Intervocalic /l/ became /r/, as the Lexicon of Buda already noted. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gel-…
nimeni
280 BC–200 BC

from Latin nemo

It is inherited from Latin nēmō (“nobody”), from its accusative nēminem. The Latin word is a contraction of an Old Latin phrase meaning no man, from nē (“not”) and the old form of homō (“man”)…
nostru
280 BC–200 BC

from Latin noster

It is inherited from Latin noster (“our”), feminine nostra. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian nostru, Megleno-Romanian nostru and Istro-Romanian nostru. Its Romance cognates include…
piept
280 BC–200 BC

from Latin pectus

It is inherited from Latin pectus (“breast, chest”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian cheptu, Megleno-Romanian chiept and Istro-Romanian chiept. Candrea and Densusianu thought that…
purice
280 BC–260 BC

from Latin pulex

It is inherited from Latin pūlicem (“flea”), the accusative of the Latin noun. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian puric, Megleno-Romanian puric and Istro-Romanian purec. Its Romance…
înalt
280 BC–200 BC

from Latin altus

It is inherited from Latin altus (“high”) with an initial în- that the sources explain in different ways. DEX 2009 and MDA2 derive it from the Latin phrase in altum (“on high”), and Wiktionary from…
între
280 BC–200 BC

from Latin inter

It is inherited from Latin inter (“between, among”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian ntră, Megleno-Romanian antri and Istro-Romanian ăntre. The word was kept in French entre, Occitan…
adică
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin adaeque

Its origin is not settled: DEX and the DA call it of unknown origin, and DELR calls it uncertain. Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Latin adaequē (“equally, in like manner”), an adverb found in…
adăuga
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin adaugeo

It is inherited from Latin adaugeō (“to increase, augment”), formed from ad- and augeō (“to increase”). Romanian continues a form with the stress of the third conjugation, which DEX and the REW give…
ainde
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin aliunde

It is usually taken as inherited from Latin aliunde (“from elsewhere”), the view of Pușcariu, the REW, Scriban and CADE. Ciorănescu accepts it, but notes that Latin and Slavic are hard to tell apart…
ajunge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin adiungo

It is inherited from Latin adiungō (“to join to, add”), formed from ad- and iungō (“to join”), from Proto-Indo-European *yewg-. MDA2 also names Italian aggiungere and French adjoindre beside the…
alb
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin albus

It is inherited from Latin albus (“white”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian albu, Megleno-Romanian alb and Istro-Romanian åb. DELR calls it pan-Romance; its cognates include Dalmatian…
alior
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin aureolus

It is probably inherited from Latin aureolus (“golden”), from aurum (“gold”), after the plant's yellow flowers. This was proposed by Candrea in 1928, who compared Occitan auriol, and is followed by…
apuca
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin aucupor

Its origin is uncertain; the explanation DELR favours is that it is inherited from Latin aucupor (“to go bird-catching; to try to catch”), with the diphthong simplified and a metathesis. This…
ara
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin aro

It is inherited from Latin arō (“to plough”), a verb kept by the whole Romance family. The Latin verb comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plough”). It survives in all four branches…
argintar
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin argentarius

DELR gives two explanations. It may be inherited from Latin argentārius (“money-changer; of silver”), from argentum (“silver”): so Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW, the DA and Scriban. The Latin…
arm
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin armus

It is inherited from Latin armus (“shoulder or upper arm of an animal”). Latin ⟨armus⟩ continues an Indo-European word for ⟨arm⟩, and de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₂erH-mo-. It survives…
armar
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin armarium

The DA, DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary take it as inherited from Latin armārium (“cupboard”), formed in Latin from arma (“weapons, tools”). The DA argues that the Romanians cannot have taken it from a…
armânt
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin armamentum

According to Scriban and Wiktionary it is inherited from Latin armāmentum (“implements, equipment”), which is formed in Latin from armō (“to arm”) and -mentum. MDA2 marks its etymology as unknown.
auă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin uva

It is inherited from Latin ūva (“grape, bunch of grapes”), with a prothetic a-: ⟨*úă⟩ became ⟨aúă⟩ and then ⟨áuă⟩. Tiktin compares the same a- in Aromanian aumbră. The word survives south of the…
așa
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin eccum

It is inherited from Latin eccum (“look, here is”) combined with sīc (“so, thus”), which gave ⟨acși⟩ and then ⟨ași⟩; the final /a/ was then added, as in abia. This is the view of Hasdeu, Tiktin, the…
capră
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin capra

It is inherited from Latin capra (“she-goat”), the feminine of caper (“he-goat”). The Latin word is found throughout the Romance languages, and DÉRom reconstructs it for Proto-Romance. The Latin…
certa
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin certo

It is inherited from Latin certō (“to contend, fight”). DELR describes the Latin verb as a frequentative of cernō (“to sift, decide”), first meaning “to seek a decision, to debate”. The DA notes…
cina
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin ceno

It is inherited from Latin cēnō (“to dine”). The Latin verb is formed on cēna (“dinner”), which gave the Romanian noun cină. DELR calls the verb pan-Romance. It survives in all four branches…
cinge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin cingo

It is inherited from Latin cingō (“to gird, surround”). Ciorănescu also cites Pușcariu and the DA for it. The verb survives south of the Danube: Aromanian țingu and Megleno-Romanian nțing. Its…
coardă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin chorda

It is inherited from Latin chorda (“string of a musical instrument, later also of a bow”), from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “gut; string of an instrument”). The senses of music, mathematics…
crăpa
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin crepo

It is inherited from Latin crepō (“to rattle, crack”). Latin meant “to make a sharp noise”, which led to “to burst with a noise”, a sense rare in Latin but kept in the Romance languages. The word…
cugeta
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin cogito

It is inherited from Latin cōgitō (“to think”), from con- and agitō (“to drive, stir; to turn over in the mind”), from agō (“to drive”). Its Romance cognates include Old French cuidier, Spanish…
cum
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin quomodo

It is inherited from Latin quōmodo (“in what way, how”), shortened already in popular Latin to quomo. The Latin word is formed of quō and modō, “in what way”. The word survives in all four branches…
câștiga
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin castigo

It is inherited from Latin castīgō (“to reprimand, to punish; to restrain”), which Ciorănescu derives from castus (“pure, chaste”). The other Romance languages kept the senses of correcting and…
că
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin quod

It is inherited from Latin quod (“that, because”). The conjunction survives in all four branches of Romanian: Aromanian cã, Megleno-Romanian că and Istro-Romanian ke. The Romance languages have…
cățel
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin catellus

It is inherited from Latin catellus (“puppy, little dog”), a diminutive of catulus (“whelp, young dog”). The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian cãtsãl and Megleno-Romanian cătsǫl. Its…
despuia
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin despolio

It is inherited from Latin dēspoliō (“to rob, to plunder”), from spoliō (“to plunder, to strip a beaten enemy”), from spolium (“skin stripped from an animal; spoils”). Tiktin, DER and DEX give the…
deștinge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin descendo

It is inherited from Latin dēscendō (“to come down, descend”), formed from dē- and scandō (“to climb”). Its Romance cognates include Italian descendere, French descendre and Spanish descender. The…
dormita
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin dormito

It is inherited from Latin dormītō (“to be sleepy, to drowse”), formed on dormiō (“to sleep”) with the frequentative suffix -itō. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian durmitizari and…
dura
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin dolo

1. The word for building is inherited from Latin dolō (“to hew, chop into shape”). The older sense survives in Aromanian durari, first person dor, “to cut wood, carve”. Ciorănescu compares Albanian…
durea
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin doleo

It is inherited from Latin doleō (“to be in pain, cause pain”), a verb kept by all the Romance languages. The verb survives in all four branches: Aromanian dor, Megleno-Romanian doari and…
duroare
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin dolor

It is inherited from Latin dolor (“pain”), in its accusative form, the view of Pușcariu, the REW, DELR, the DLR and MDA2. The Latin noun was formed on doleō (“to hurt”). Ciorănescu notes that it…
fată
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin feta

It is inherited from Latin fēta (“a woman or a female animal that has just given birth”), the adjective fētus used as a noun. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian featã, Megleno-Romanian fętă…
fașă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin fascia

It is inherited from Latin fascia (“band, bandage, swathe”), related to fascis (“bundle”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian fashe, Megleno-Romanian fașă and Istro-Romanian foșa. Its…
fierar
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin ferrarius

It is inherited from Latin ferrārius (“blacksmith”), the view of Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW, the DA, Tiktin, DEX and MDA2. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of fier “iron”, made…
fierbinte
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin fervens

It is inherited from Latin fervēns (“boiling, hot”), the present participle of ferveō (“to boil”). Candrea and Densusianu point out that the regular outcome would have been ⟨ferbinte⟩, and explain…
floc
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin floccus

It is inherited from Latin floccus (“tuft of wool”), a word continued in most of the Romance languages. Pușcariu gives Aromanian floc for the Aromanian form, and Papahagi records it with the sense…
freamăt
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin fremitus

It is inherited from Latin fremitus (“a roar, rumble, murmur”). The Latin noun is formed on fremō (“to roar, rumble”) with the suffix -tus. De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem-…
freca
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin frico

It is inherited from Latin fricō (“to rub”). Wiktionary takes the Latin verb as an intensive popular form of friō. The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian frec and Megleno-Romanian frec…
frige
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin frigo

It is inherited from Latin frīgō (“to roast, to fry”). De Vaan notes that Ancient Greek φρύγω (phrúgō, “to roast”) is very close in form and sense but cannot be matched by the sound laws, so the…
frumos
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin formosus

It is inherited from Latin fōrmōsus (“shapely, beautiful”), from forma (“form, shape”). Its Romance cognates include Italian formoso, Occitan formos, Spanish hermoso and Portuguese formoso…
fugaci
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin fugax

It is inherited from Latin fugāx (“apt to flee, swift”) in the view of DEX, MDA2, Tiktin and Candrea–Densusianu. The Latin adjective is formed on fugiō (“to flee”) with the suffix -āx (“inclined…
fuma
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin fumo

It is inherited from Latin fūmō (“to smoke, give off smoke”), from fūmus (“smoke”). Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of fum “smoke”, but adds that it probably continues the Latin verb. Its…
furcă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin furca

It is inherited from Latin furca (“fork”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian furcã, Megleno-Romanian furcă and Istro-Romanian furke. Its Romance cognates include Italian forca, French…
făină
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin farina

It is inherited from Latin farīna (“flour, meal”). Ciorănescu explains the modern form through the variants still recorded: Latin /r/ between vowels gave fărină, which is still said in Transylvania…
geme
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin gemo

It is inherited from Latin gemō (“to groan, moan”). It survives in Aromanian dzem, which Ciorănescu cites as ⟨gem⟩. The Romance cognates include Italian gemere, French geindre, Spanish gemir and…
grindină
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin grando

It is inherited from Latin grandō, grandinem (“hail”), continuing the accusative. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian grindinã and Megleno-Romanian grindini. Its Romance cognates are Italian…
găinaț
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin gallinaceus

It is inherited from Latin gallīnāceus (“of hens”), the adjective of gallīna (“hen”), used with stercus (“dung”) or fimus (“manure”) understood. Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu, Densusianu, Candrea and…
iarbă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin herba

It is inherited from Latin herba (“grass, herb”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian earbã, Megleno-Romanian iarbă and Istro-Romanian iorbe. Its Romance cognates include Italian erba…
iepure
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin lepus

It is inherited from Latin lepus (“hare”), from its accusative ⟨leporem⟩. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian ljepure, Megleno-Romanian l'epuri and Istro-Romanian l'epur. Albanian borrowed…

All Romanian words inherited from Latin, by century →