300–201 BC

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

503 Romanian words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 3rd century BC, earliest Latin record first (page 5).

turmă
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin turma

It is inherited from Latin turma (“troop of cavalry; crowd”). In Latin the word named a small squadron of horsemen; the OLD compares turba (“crowd”). The word survives in Aromanian as turmã and in…
ulm
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin ulmus

It is inherited from Latin ulmus (“elm”), as all the dictionaries agree. It survives in Megleno-Romanian as ulm, beside an unclear uolum, and in Aromanian as ulmu. Its Romance cognates include…
umbros
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin umbrosus

Its origin is disputed. Wiktionary, Pușcariu (article 1802), the REW and Papahagi take it as inherited from Latin umbrōsus (“full of shade, shady”), and DEX gives that source beside a Romanian…
vecinătate
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin vicinitas

DEX and Tiktin take it as inherited from Latin vīcīnitās (“neighbourhood, nearness”), and Ciorănescu lists it under vecin as possibly from the Latin accusative vīcīnitātem, following Pușcariu. The…
vierme
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin vermis

It is inherited from Latin vermis (“worm”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian yermu, Megleno-Romanian ghermi and Istro-Romanian lʼérmu. Its Romance cognates include Italian verme…
vinaț
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin vinaceus

It is probably inherited from Latin vīnāceus (“of wine, of grapes”), as DEX, Tiktin, the DLR and the REW give it. Ciorănescu treats it under vin and also calls the Latin source probable. Șăineanu…
vioară
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin viola

1. The word for the violet is inherited from Latin viola (“violet”), with the intervocalic /l/ becoming /r/. The Latin word is related to Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”). Tiktin thinks the…
vântos
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin ventosus

According to the DLR, MDA2 and Scriban it is inherited from Latin ventōsus (“windy”), and Cihac compared the Romance words of the same origin. DEX, Ciorănescu and the Romanian Wiktionary take it…
vână
234 BC–149 BC

from Latin vena

It is inherited from Latin vēna (“blood vessel”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian vinã, Megleno-Romanian vină and Istro-Romanian virę. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian vaina…
putred
230 BC–168 BC

from Latin putridus

It is inherited from Latin putridus (“rotten, decaying”), formed on putreō (“to be rotten”). Among the Romance languages only Romanian has kept the Latin adjective. South of the Danube it is…
acoperi
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cooperio

It is inherited from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”), formed con- and operiō (“to cover”), a verb that survives throughout Romance. Ciorănescu files the word under the shorter coperi, and…
aduce
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin adduco

It is inherited from Latin addūcō (“to lead to, bring”), formed from ad- and dūcō (“to lead”). It is thus a compound of the same verb as duce. The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian aduc…
ajuta
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin adiuto

It is inherited from Latin adiūtō (“to help, assist”). The Latin verb is a frequentative of adiuvō (“to help”), itself formed from ad- and iuvō (“to help, to please”). Candrea–Densusianu explain the…
alega
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin alligo

1. The word for “to cling to, pester” is inherited from Latin alligō (“to bind to, fasten”), from ad- and ligō (“to bind”). The REW lists it with Italian allegare and French allier. Ciorănescu also…
alege
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin allego

It is inherited from Latin allegō (“to choose, to recruit”), formed with ad- on legō (“to gather, to choose, to read”). Ciorănescu notes that it survives only in Romanian and in Italian, as Italian…
amar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin amarus

It is inherited from Latin amārus (“bitter”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian amar, Megleno-Romanian (an)mar and Istro-Romanian amår. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian amuár…
apleca
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin applico

It is inherited from Latin applicō (“to attach, apply; to bring a ship to land”). The Latin verb is formed from ad- and plicō (“to fold”). DELR holds that on its way into Romanian it took over the…
aprinde
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin apprehendo

It is inherited from Latin appre(he)ndere (“to seize, grasp”), formed on ad- and prehendō (“to take, seize”). DER cites Șăineanu, Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW and the DA. The other Romance…
apune
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin appono

It is inherited from Latin appōnō (“to place beside, put on”), formed from ad- and pōnō (“to put”). The sense “to set” is explained through an intermediate “to put down, to lie down”, which survives…
apăra
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin apparo

It is inherited from Latin apparō (“to prepare, make ready”), formed on parō (“to prepare”). It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian apăr and Istro-Romanian opăr; DELR gives the Istro-Romanian…
arbore
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin arbor

It is inherited from Latin arbor (“tree”), accusative arborem. The regular outcome was arbure, the form of the old texts; the modern form took its stressed /o/ from Latin and its neologisms. The…
arde
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin ardeo

It is inherited from Latin ardēre (“to burn”), through a Vulgar Latin *ardĕre that moved the verb into the third conjugation. DELR considers the shift probably Latin, since Italian, Sardinian…
arete
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin aries

It is inherited from Latin aries (“ram”), through the oblique form ⟨*aretem⟩ for classical ⟨arietem⟩. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁r-i-(e)t- (“a certain domestic animal”). It…
arăduce
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin reduco

It is inherited from Latin redūcō (“to lead back”), formed in Latin from re- (“back”) and dūcō (“to lead”). Ciorănescu takes the Latin verb in the sense “to bring again” or “to reduce”, with the…
ascunde
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin abscondo

It is inherited from Latin abscondō (“to hide”), a verb that survives across the Romance languages. DELR analyses the Latin verb as abs- and condō (“to put together, to store in a safe place”)…
atinge
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin attingo

It is inherited from Latin attingō (“to touch, reach”), formed from ad- and tangō (“to touch”). Italian attingere continues the same verb, while French atteindre and Catalan atanyer go back to…
austru
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin auster

It is inherited from Latin auster (“south wind”), also found as a neuter austrum, a word inherited by several Romance languages. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *austeros and…
baieră
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin baiulus

It is inherited from Latin bāiulus (“porter, carrier”), or its feminine bāiula, which in Late Latin was also an adjective “carrying”. DELR suggests a neuter Vulgar Latin *bāiulum “thing that holds…
barbă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin barba

It is inherited from Latin barba (“beard”), a word common to the Romance languages. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰeh₂ (“beard”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian…
bate
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin battuo

It is inherited from Latin battuō (“to beat, strike”), in its later form battō. The verb is pan-Romance, and survives in all four branches: Aromanian bat, Megleno-Romanian bat and Istro-Romanian…
bine
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bene

It is inherited from Latin bene (“well”), the adverb belonging to bonus (“good”) (Old Latin duenos), and it survives in all the Romance languages. The word is found in all four branches: Aromanian…
boace
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vox

It is inherited from Latin vōx (“voice”), from its accusative vōcem, a word that survives across the Romance languages. Candrea and Densusianu start from a spoken Latin form with /b-/, *bōcem. The…
bucă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bucca

It is inherited from Latin bucca (“puffed cheek; mouth”). De Vaan considers “cheek” the original sense of the Latin word and “mouth” a secondary, at first derogatory one; its origin is uncertain…
bunătate
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bonitas

It is inherited from Latin bonitās (“goodness”), formed from bonus (“good”) with the suffix -tās. DELR calls it panromance. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian bunătate and Megleno-Romanian…
ceară
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cera

It is inherited from Latin cēra (“wax”). The Latin word is related to Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós, “wax”) and may have been borrowed from Greek. It survives in Aromanian as tsearã, also “candle”, and…
cerb
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cervus

It is inherited from Latin cervus (“stag, deer”). It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian tserbu and Megleno-Romanian țerb. Its Romance cognates include Italian cervo, French cerf, Spanish ciervo…
cerbice
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cervix

It is inherited from Latin cervīx (“neck, nape”), continued in its accusative form ⟨cervīcem⟩. The Latin word has been traced to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head”) and *weyk- (“to bend”), “where…
cerc
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin circus

It is inherited from Latin circus (“circle, ring”), and its modern senses were added after French cercle. The Latin noun is probably from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos, “ring”), also κίρκος (kírkos)…
cerne
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cerno

It is inherited from Latin cernō (“to sift, distinguish, decide”), with the same conjugation class. The Latin verb goes back to *krei- (“to sift, separate”) and is related to Ancient Greek κρίνω…
cetate
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin civitas

It is inherited from Latin cīvitās (“citizenship; city”), through its accusative. The Latin noun is formed on cīvis (“citizen”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian țitate…
cheie
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin clavis

It is inherited from Latin clāvis (“key”), from the accusative clāvem, a word kept by the Romance languages. DELR records an older form ⟨cleie⟩ in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis of about 1650. The…
chema
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin clamo

It is inherited from Latin clāmō (“to shout, cry out; to call”). The Latin verb looks like a derivative of a lost noun meaning “shout”, and Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to…
coastă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin costa

It is inherited from Latin costa (“rib; side”). DELR adds that the sense “seashore” follows French côte. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian coastã, Megleno-Romanian coasta and…
comânda
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin commendo

It is inherited from Latin commendō (“to entrust, commend”), in its popular form *commandō, remade on mandō (“to entrust”). The Latin verb is formed from con- and that verb. The Romanian senses…
conteni
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin contineo

DELR takes it as inherited from Latin contineō (“to hold together, keep in, restrain”), itself formed from con- and teneō (“to hold”), which moved early to the fourth conjugation of Romanian verbs…
coperi
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cooperio

It is inherited from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”), formed from co- and operiō (“to cover, close”). It is the older form of acoperi, which adds a prothetic ⟨a-⟩; DER notes that the two have…
corb
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin corvus

It is inherited from Latin corvus (“raven”). The Latin /rv/ gave /rb/ here, as in the variant corbus that Candrea and Densusianu and Papahagi give and in Old Italian corbo. The Latin word is…
corn
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cornu

1. The word for the horn is inherited from Latin cornū (“horn”), from *ḱrn-o-, and cognate with the English word horn. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian cornu, Megleno-Romanian corn and…
cot
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cubitus

It is inherited from Latin cubitus (“elbow”): DELR derives the body part from it and the unit of length from cubitum (“cubit”). Ciorănescu, Pușcariu and the REW start from the neuter, which already…
creier
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cerebrum

It is inherited from Latin, but the sound changes are irregular and not fully explained. Most sources take it as inherited from Latin cerebrum (“brain”) through a shortened *crebrum. DELR explains…
crud
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin crudus

It is inherited from Latin crūdus (“raw, bloody; cruel”), a word kept throughout Romance. DELR connects the Latin word with a root crū- “blood”, as in cruor (“blood”) and cruentus (“bloody”), so…
cui
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cuneus

It is inherited from Latin cuneus (“wedge”), a word continued throughout Romance. The REW, Pușcariu, and Candrea and Densusianu give the same source. The origin of the Latin word is unclear: a link…
culca
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin colloco

It is inherited from Latin collocō (“to place, set in place”). The Latin verb is formed from con- and locō (“to put in a place”), from locus (“place”). In Late Latin it had also come to mean “to lay…
culege
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin colligo

It is inherited from Latin colligō (“to gather together”), a pan-Romance verb. The Latin verb is a compound of con- and legō (“to gather, collect”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian…
culme
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin culmen

It is inherited from Latin culmen (“top, summit; roof”), a contracted form of columen. Ciorănescu thinks it probably passed through a form Vulgar Latin *culmis. The bookish variants culmine and…
cumnat
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cognatus

It is inherited from Latin cognātus (“related by birth, blood relative”), from con- and nātus (“born”). The sense widened to “relative” and then narrowed in Vulgar Latin to “brother-in-law”, which…
cumpăra
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin comparo

It is inherited from Latin comparō (“to prepare, procure; to buy”), a verb formed with con- on parō (“to prepare, procure”). Latin already used it in the sense “to buy”, and that is the sense it has…
curs
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cursus

1. The word for the flow of water is inherited from Latin cursus (“running, course”), with some senses modelled on French cours. The Latin noun was formed on currō (“to run”). Tiktin counts the…
custa
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin consto

It is inherited from Latin cōnstō (“to stand firm, remain unchanged”), formed from con- and stō (“to stand”), the source of sta. Pușcariu, the REW and Drăganu gave the same etymon. It survives south…
cuveni
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin convenio

It is inherited from Latin conveniō (“to come together; to suit, be fitting”). The Latin verb was formed with con- on veniō (“to come”). DELR calls it panromance; its cognates include Italian…

All Romanian words inherited from Latin, by century →