300–201 BC

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

480 Romanian words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 3rd century BC, earliest Latin record first (page 2).

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…
inel
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin anellus

It is inherited from Latin ānellus (“little ring”), a diminutive of ānulus (“ring”). Latin unstressed /a/ before /n/ gave /ɨ/, which became /i/ when /e/ followed in the next syllable. The stressed…
junghia
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin iugulo

It is inherited from Latin iugulō (“to kill by cutting the throat”), with an /n/ inserted before the /g/. The Latin verb is formed on iugulum (“throat”). Diez, the Lexicon de la Buda and Pascu also…
jura
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin iuro

It is inherited from Latin iūrō (“to swear, take an oath”). The Latin verb is formed on iūs (“law; ritual formula”). Wiktionary traces it further to Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-. The verb survives in…
la
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin illac

It is inherited from Latin illāc (“that way, there”), an adverb that took on the role of a preposition. Ciorănescu and Tiktin start from a strengthened compound of this adverb and the preposition ad…
lege
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin lex

It is inherited from Latin lēx (“law”), from the accusative lēgem, a word kept by the Romance languages. The Aromanian cognate is leage. The Romance cognates include Italian legge, French loi…
lemn
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin lignum

It is inherited from Latin lignum (“wood, firewood”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian lemnu, Megleno-Romanian lemu and Istro-Romanian lęmnę. The Romance cognates include Italian…
limbric
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin lumbricus

It is inherited from Latin lumbrīcus (“earthworm; intestinal worm”). Candrea and Densusianu explain the vowels: unstressed /u/ before /m/ became /i/, and the second vowel was assimilated to it. The…
lingoare
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin languor

It is inherited from Latin languor (“faintness, weariness”), continued through its accusative languōrem. The Latin noun is formed on langueō (“to be faint, weary”) with the suffix -or. Ciorănescu…
lână
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin lana

It is inherited from Latin lāna (“wool”). The Latin word comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (“wool”), the source also of English wool. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian lãnã…
mișel
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin misellus

It is inherited from Latin misellus (“poor, wretched”), the diminutive of miser (“wretched”). The Latin adjective meant “poor, pitiable” in Cicero's letters and Catullus. Candrea and Densusianu take…
mormânt
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin monumentum

It is inherited from Latin monumentum (“memorial, monument; tomb”), or its variant monimentum. The Latin noun is formed on moneō (“to remind”) with the suffix -mentum. The /r/ is explained by…
muc
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin mucus

It is inherited from Latin mūcus (“mucus, snot”) or a variant of it, but the sources differ on the path. DEX takes the singular as remade from the plural muci, from the plural mucci of the variant…
muced
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin mucidus

It is inherited from Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”). The Latin adjective also meant “snivelling” in Plautus, and is formed on mūceō (“to be musty”). Tiktin also gives muccidus. The Romance cognates…
mur
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin morus

1. The word for the blackberry bush is inherited from Latin mōrus (“mulberry tree”). Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW give the same etymon. The Latin word is compared with Ancient Greek…
mură
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin mora

1. The word for the blackberry is inherited from Latin mōra, the plural of mōrum (“mulberry, blackberry”) taken as a feminine singular. MDA2 and Tiktin give the Latin singular as the etymon…
mânecă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin manica

It is inherited from Latin manica (“sleeve”), formed on manus (“hand”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian mãnicã, Megleno-Romanian mǫnică and Istro-Romanian mărecă. Its Romance cognates…
măduvă
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin medulla

It is inherited from Latin medulla (“marrow, pith”). The Latin word gave măduă, and the hiatus was then filled by /v/ (elsewhere /h/ or /g/), as in văduvă. Candrea and Densusianu explain the shift…
nară
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin naris

It is inherited from Latin nāris (“nostril; nose”). The Latin word is related to nāsus (“nose”), with /s/ turned to /r/ between vowels, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *Hneh₂-s- (“nose”). It…
nea
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin nix

It is inherited from Latin nix (“snow”), from the accusative nivem. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *snígʷʰs (“snow”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian neao…
negoț
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin negotium

It is inherited from Latin negōtium (“business, occupation”). The Latin noun is formed from nec (“not”) and ōtium (“leisure”). The REW lists the Romanian word with Occitan neotz. Pascu proposed a…
nutrica
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin nutrico

It is inherited from Latin nūtrīcō (“to suckle, nurse”), as MDA2, DLR and Wiktionary give it. The Latin verb is formed on nūtrīx (“wet nurse”) and is used by Plautus and Varro. The REW lists its…
opt
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin octo

It is inherited from Latin octō (“eight”). The numeral survives in all four branches: Aromanian optu, Megleno-Romanian uopt and Istro-Romanian opt. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian uapto…
orz
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin hordeum

It is inherited from Latin hordeum (“barley”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian ordzu, Megleno-Romanian uorz and Istro-Romanian orz. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian vuarz, Italian…
pescar
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin piscarius

It is inherited from Latin piscārius (“of fish; fishmonger”), formed on piscis (“fish”). The old form păscar is the regular outcome; ⟨pe-⟩ is due to the influence of pește, as in pescui. Tiktin…
piatră
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin petra

It is inherited from Latin petra (“stone, rock”). Latin took it late from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra, “rock”), whose further origin is unknown. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian k'atră and…
piedică
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pedica

It is inherited from Latin pedica (“fetter, snare”). The Latin noun is the feminine of an adjective formed from pēs (“foot”). It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian cheadicã (Ciorănescu writes…
pieptene
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pecten

It is inherited from Latin pecten (“comb”), in its accusative form pectinem. The word survives in all four branches of Romanian: Aromanian cheaptini, Megleno-Romanian chiaptin and Istro-Romanian…
plimba
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin perambulo

It is inherited from Latin perambulō (“to walk through”), formed with per- (“through”) on ambulō (“to walk”). MDA2 gives the etymon as praeambulō. The older forms preumbla and primbla show the…
plămân
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pulmo

It is inherited from Latin pulmōnem (“lung”), through a form with metathesis, *plumonem. The same metathesis is found in Sicilian primuni and in other southern Italian dialects. The word survives in…
previnge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pervinco

It is inherited from Latin pervincō (“to win a complete victory over”), formed with per- on vincō (“to conquer”). Ciorănescu compares învinge, the common verb from the simple Latin verb.
priveghea
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pervigilo

It is inherited from Latin pervigilō (“to stay awake all night”), with the syncopated Vulgar Latin form *perviglō. The Latin verb is formed with per- on vigilō (“to stay awake”), which gave the…
prânz
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin prandium

It is inherited from Latin prandium (“late breakfast, luncheon”). Aromanian keeps the noun as prãndzu. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian prinz, Italian pranzo and Sardinian prandzu. De Vaan and…
prânzi
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin prandeo

It is inherited from Latin prandeō (“to eat the morning or midday meal”), with a change of conjugation, according to Ciorănescu, who follows Densusianu, Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW…
prăda
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin praedo

It is inherited from Latin praedō (“to plunder”), according to DEX, MDA2, Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW. Latin had this active form beside the usual deponent praedor. Wiktionary sets up…
pârghie
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin pergula

It is probably inherited from Latin pergula, which meant a projection on the front of a building and, according to Du Cange, also a small beam. Ciorănescu follows Pascu and Scriban here. Scriban…
păcat
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin peccatum

It is inherited from Latin peccātum (“error, sin”). The Latin noun is the neuter past participle of peccō (“to err, sin”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian picat, Megleno-Romanian…
păioară
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin palliolum

It is inherited from Latin palliola (“small cloak, hood”), the Latin plural taken as a feminine singular. Wiktionary writes it as Vulgar Latin *palliōla. The Latin word is a diminutive of pallium…
pănură
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin paenula

It is inherited from Latin paenula (“hooded cloak”), according to Ciorănescu, MDA2, DEX and Wiktionary. The Latin word is from Ancient Greek φαινόλης (phainólēs, “thick upper garment, cloak”)…
ridica
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin eradico

Its origin is disputed. The DLR, MDA2 and Wiktionary hold that it is inherited from Latin ērādīcō (“to root out”), from rādīx (“root”), the view of Tiktin, Candrea and Graur. The learned eradica…
râie
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin aranea

It is inherited from Latin arānea (“spider; spider's web”), which Latin medical writers also used for a skin disease. The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian arãnji and Megleno-Romanian…
rână
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin ren

It is probably inherited from Latin rēn (“kidney”), through a form *rēna made on the plural rēnēs (“kidneys, loins”). The sense passed from the kidneys to the region of the loins and then to the…
răpune
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin repono

It is inherited from Latin repōnō (“to put back, lay down”). Candrea and Densusianu explain the senses from “to put back, lay down”: “to throw down”, then “to make fall”, “to defeat” and “to kill”…
rășină
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin resina

It is inherited from Latin resīna (“resin”). Latin had adapted the word from Ancient Greek ῥητίνη (rhētínē, “pine resin”). The REW also records a Latin variant rasina. It survives south of the…
sarcină
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin sarcina

It is inherited from Latin sarcina (“pack, bundle, burden”). The Latin noun is related to sarciō (“to patch, mend”) and is traced to Proto-Indo-European *serḱ-. The word survives south of the Danube…
scoace
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin excoquo

It is inherited from Latin excoquō (“to boil out, cook thoroughly”), in its spoken form *excocō, as Ciorănescu, DELR, Tiktin, MDA2, the DLR and Candrea–Densusianu agree. The Latin verb is formed ex-…
scurge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin excurro

It is inherited from Latin excurrō (“to run out”), a compound of ex- and currō (“to run”). The inherited form was scure; like curge from cure, it was remade with a stem in -g- on the model of verbs…
scut
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin scutum

It is inherited from Latin scūtum (“shield”). Its Romance cognates include Logudorese iskudu, Catalan escut, French écu, Spanish escudo and Portuguese escudo; Italian scudo came from Occitan escut…
semăna
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin semino

1. The word for “to sow” is inherited from Latin sēminō (“to sow”), from sēmen (“seed”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian seamin, Megleno-Romanian sęmin and Istro-Romanian semiru. Its…
sparge
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin spargo

It is inherited from Latin spargō (“to scatter, to strew”). Ciorănescu cites Cihac, Șăineanu, Pușcariu and the REW for it. De Vaan derives the Latin verb from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”)…
spre
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin super

It is inherited from Latin super (“over, above, on”). Pușcariu lists it as no. 1626 of the Latin element. The Latin preposition goes back to Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”), the source…
spurc
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin spurcus

The Academy dictionaries make it inherited from Latin spurcus (“dirty, filthy, foul”), the adjective used as a noun. Scriban gives the same source, and the REW derives the Romanian sense “devil”…
stoarce
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin extorqueo

It is inherited from Latin extorqueō (“to twist out, wrench away”), which passed into the third conjugation like toarce. Wiktionary posits a Vulgar Latin form of the third conjugation. The Latin…
sturz
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin turdus

It is inherited from Latin turdus (“thrush”). The final /z/ comes from the plural: turdī gave Romanian ⟨turzi⟩, from which a new singular was made. The initial /s/ is usually explained by the…
sub
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin subtus

It is inherited from Latin subtus (“below, underneath”), a Latin adverb that later also served as a preposition. The Latin word was formed on sub (“under”) with the ending of intus (“within”). Older…
sufla
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin sufflo

It is inherited from Latin sufflō (“to blow, puff up”). The Latin verb is formed from sub- and flō (“to blow”). It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian suflu and Megleno-Romanian suflu. Its…
surd
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin surdus

It is inherited from Latin surdus (“deaf”). Wiktionary traces the Latin word to Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“ringing, whistling”); de Vaan notes that this root does not explain the meaning. The word…
săcret
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin secretus

It is inherited from Latin sēcrētus (“set apart, solitary”), the participle of sēcernō (“to separate”). Pușcariu and the REW explain the Romanian senses “deserted, cursed” from the Latin sense…
sătura
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin saturo

It is inherited from Latin saturō (“to fill, sate”), formed on satur (“full, sated”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian satur, Megleno-Romanian satur and Istro-Romanian sotur. Outside…
tuși
250 BC–184 BC

from Latin tussio

It is inherited from Latin tussiō (“to cough”), which is formed on tussis (“cough”), the source of Romanian tuse. Pușcariu and the REW give the same etymon. The verb survives south of the Danube as…

All Romanian words inherited from Latin, by century →