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 7).

pană
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pinna

1. The word for the feather is inherited from Latin pinna (“feather, wing”). Scriban and Wiktionary also name the variant penna, and Nocentini notes that the two Latin forms merged in Romance. The…
par
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin palus

1. The word for the stake is inherited from Latin pālus (“stake”). The Latin word comes from Proto-Italic *pākslos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-slos, a derivative of *peh₂ǵ- (“to attach, fix”)…
pasăre
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin passer

It is inherited from Latin passer (“sparrow, small bird”), from the popular accusative ⟨passarem⟩ for classical ⟨passerem⟩. In Latin the word meant “sparrow” and also “bird”. Of the sister branches…
patru
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin quattuor

It is inherited from Latin quattuor (“four”), reduced in popular speech to ⟨quattor⟩, the form found in inscriptions. The Latin numeral comes from Proto-Italic *kʷettwōr, from Proto-Indo-European…
paște
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pasco

It is inherited from Latin pāscō (“to feed, pasture”). The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect”); de Vaan reconstructs a root *peh₂-s- (“to protect, herd”) and a present…
pește
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin piscis

It is inherited from Latin piscis (“fish”), from the accusative piscem. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peysk- (“fish”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian peaște…
piele
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pellis

It is inherited from Latin pellem (“skin, hide”), the accusative of the Latin noun, which lives on in nearly every Romance language. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover…
pisa
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pinso

It is inherited from Latin pīnsō (“to pound, crush”), in its popular form pīsō, conjugated in the first conjugation. The Aromanian counterpart is chisedz. Its Romance cognates include French piser…
plăcea
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin placeo

It is inherited from Latin placeō (“to be pleasing”). The Latin verb belongs with plācō (“to appease”), and de Vaan finds its only close relatives in Tocharian, in words for “to agree” and…
poartă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin porta

It is inherited from Latin porta (“gate, door”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian poartă, Megleno-Romanian poartă and Istro-Romanian poartę. The Romance cognates include Italian…
porc
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin porcus

It is inherited from Latin porcus (“pig”), a word found throughout Romance. Latin had it from Proto-Indo-European *pórḱos (“young pig”), perhaps originally “digger”; related words are Lithuanian…
pricepe
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin percipio

It is inherited from Latin percipiō (“to take in, perceive, understand”). Candrea and Densusianu derive the old form precepe directly from the Latin verb, and the modern form from it by…
primar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin primarius

The old adjective is inherited from Latin prīmārius (“one of the first; principal”). Candrea and Densusianu explain the vowel /i/ of the first syllable, where the old ⟨premar⟩ shows the regular /e/…
pulbere
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pulvis

It is inherited from Latin pulverem (“dust”), the accusative case of the Latin noun. Aromanian has pulbire. The Romance cognates include Dalmatian pulvro, Italian polvere, Occitan poldra, French…
purcede
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin procedo

It is inherited from Latin prōcēdō (“to go forward, advance”). Ciorănescu also cites Pușcariu and the REW, and notes after Rosetti that of the Romance languages only Romanian kept the verb. The…
pururi
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin purus

Its origin is unknown. The Academy's dictionaries take it as probably inherited from Latin pūrus (“pure, clean”), an etymology Pușcariu proposed and the REW accepted with a question mark. Tiktin…
puț
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin puteus

It is inherited from Latin puteus (“well, pit”). Wiktionary links the Latin word with Proto-Indo-European *paw- (“to strike”); de Vaan finds this impossible because of the short ⟨u⟩, and thinks the…
pâine
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin panis

It is inherited from Latin pānis (“bread”), continued in its accusative pānem. The Latin word may come from *peh₂- (“to feed, to graze”). De Vaan notes the usual link, through an older stem, with…
pântece
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pantex

It is inherited from Latin pantex (“belly, paunch, guts”), from its accusative ⟨panticem⟩. Diez, Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW give the same etymon. The Latin noun was a colloquial…
până
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin paene

It is probably inherited from Latin paene (“almost”) followed by ad (“to”), “almost to”. Ciorănescu, citing Cipariu, Pușcariu, Tiktin and the REW, accepts this source but finds the derivation…
părinte
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin parens

It is inherited from Latin parēns (“parent, father”), continuing the accusative parentem. The Latin noun is an old participle of pariō (“to give birth to, beget”). The word survives in Aromanian…
păs
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin pensum

It is inherited from Latin pēnsum (“weight; a load”), the neuter of the past participle of pendō (“to weigh”). Wiktionary takes it from a spoken form *pēsum. Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu, Candrea and…
rar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin rarus

It is inherited from Latin rārus (“loose, sparse, rare”). Its Romance cognates include Italian rado and raro, French rare, Occitan rar, Spanish raro and Portuguese raro. It survives as Aromanian…
rece
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin recens

It is inherited from Latin recēns (“fresh, recent”), probably through a reduced form Vulgar Latin *reces. The Latin word is formed from re- and Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“new, fresh”). The meaning…
repede
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin rapidus

It is inherited from Latin rapidus (“swift, tearing along”) and the adverb rapidē. The Latin adjective is formed from rapiō (“to snatch”). Istro-Romanian has răpede; Pușcariu records other words for…
rost
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin rostrum

It is inherited from Latin rōstrum (“beak, snout”). It survives as Aromanian arostu “mouth; shed of the loom”. The Romance cognates are Italian rostro, Spanish rostro “face”, Catalan rostre and…
rouă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin ros

It is inherited from Latin rōs (“dew”), a word that Romanian shares with Occitan ros and Catalan ros. It survives in Aromanian aroauă and Megleno-Romanian rauă. The Latin word comes from…
ruga
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin rogo

It is inherited from Latin rogō (“to ask”). Wiktionary traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *h₃roǵ-, an ablaut grade of *h₃reǵ- (“to stretch out”), with a shift from “stretch out (one's…
râpă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin ripa

It is inherited from Latin rīpa (“bank”). The Latin noun meant “river bank”; de Vaan and Wiktionary trace it to Proto-Indo-European *h₁réyp-eh₂ (“steep slope”), from *h₁reyp- (“to tear, tear down”)…
râs
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin risus

1. The word for laughter is inherited from Latin rīsus (“laughter”). The Latin noun was formed on rīdeō (“to laugh”). The Romanian verb from that root is râde. It survives in Aromanian arãs. The…
răsuna
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin resono

It is inherited from Latin resonō (“to resound, echo”), according to DEX, MDA2, DLR and Wiktionary. The Latin verb is formed from re- (“back, again”) and sonō (“to sound”), the source of suna. It…
sac
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin saccus

It is inherited from Latin saccus (“sack, bag”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian sac, Megleno-Romanian sac and Istro-Romanian sǫc. Its Romance cognates include Italian sacco…
salcie
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin salix

It is inherited from Latin salix (“willow”), from its accusative salicem. The older Romanian form is ⟨salce⟩. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian salțe and Megleno-Romanian sâlcă. Its Romance…
scorbură
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin scrobis

Ciorănescu, Tiktin, the REW and Wiktionary take it as inherited from Latin scrobis (“ditch, pit”), through a form *scorbis with the /r/ moved. The ending is explained by a Latin diminutive *scorbula…
screme
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin exprimo

It is inherited from Latin exprimō (“to press out”), in a spoken form *expremō, as Ciorănescu, Tiktin, MDA2, the DLR and the REW agree. The Latin verb is formed ex- and premō (“to press”). It is a…
scroafă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin scrofa

It is inherited from Latin scrōfa (“sow”). Its Romance cognates include Italian scrofa, Romansh scrua and Friulian scrove. Ciorănescu also compares Modern Greek σκρόφα (skrófa). In Latin it was a…
seară
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sera

It is inherited from Late Latin sēra (“evening”), a Late Latin noun shortened from the phrase sēra diēs (“late day”), with the feminine of Latin sērus (“late”). The adjective goes back to…
sec
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin siccus

It is inherited from Latin siccus (“dry”), a word kept across the Romance languages. Pușcariu (no. 1569) and the REW (no. 7897) list it among the inherited words. Wiktionary traces the Latin…
secure
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin securis

It is inherited from Latin secūris (“axe”), a noun related to secō (“to cut”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian secure, Megleno-Romanian sicuri and Istro-Romanian secure. Its Romance…
senin
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin serenus

It is inherited from Latin serēnus (“clear, unclouded”). Ciorănescu notes that the assimilation of /r/ to the following /n/ is recent, and the Transylvanian forms serin and sărin do not have it…
sete
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sitis

It is inherited from Latin sitis (“thirst”). De Vaan derives the Latin word from Proto-Indo-European *dʰgʷʰítis (“destruction, perishing”): the initial cluster was reordered in the prehistory of…
seu
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sebum

It is inherited from Latin sēbum (“tallow, suet”), a word inherited across Romance. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian seu, Megleno-Romanian seu and Istro-Romanian sew. Its Romance cognates…
simți
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sentio

It is inherited from Latin sentiō (“to feel, perceive”). The Latin verb comes from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”). De Vaan relates it to Lithuanian sintėti (“to think”) and to Germanic and…
singur
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin singulus

It is inherited from Latin singulus (“one each, single, alone”). It survives in Aromanian singur and Megleno-Romanian singur. Its Romance relatives are few and scattered: Dalmatian sanglo (“alone”)…
soartă
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sors

It is inherited from Latin sors (“lot; fate”). The older form, now archaic, is soarte. The masculine sorț was made from the plural ⟨sorți⟩, understood as a masculine. The Latin noun goes back to…
spaț
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin spatium

It is inherited from Latin spatium (“space, interval, course”). Tiktin calls the Latin source probable. The REW lists the Transylvanian word, “the space between the weft and the batten of a loom”…
spune
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin expono

It is inherited from Latin expōnō (“to set out, explain”), from ex- and pōnō (“to place, put”). The neologism expune is a later loan of the same Latin verb. The verb survives in Aromanian aspun…
stavăr
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin stabilis

Wiktionary and DLRLV make it inherited from Latin stabilis (“firm, steady”). Scriban gives the same source and compares the /v/ between vowels with avere. The Latin word was borrowed again later as…
stea
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin stella

It is inherited from Latin stēlla (“star”), through the old form steală and the colloquial steauă, later shortened. Tiktin points out that the Romance forms all require the long ⟨ē⟩. Ciorănescu…
strica
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin extrico

It is inherited from Latin extrīcō (“to disentangle, set free”). The Latin verb is formed from ex- and trīcae (“hindrances, tricks”). Ciorănescu explains the Romanian senses from “to undo what…
suna
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sono

It is inherited from Latin sonō (“to sound”), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”). It survives in Aromanian asun and Megleno-Romanian sun. Romance cognates include…
supune
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin suppono

It is inherited from Latin suppōnō (“to place under; to subject”), formed with sub- (“under”) on pōnō (“to put, place”). Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW. The REW…
suspina
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin suspiro

It is inherited from Latin suspīrō (“to sigh”). MDA2 writes the etymon as ⟨suspinare⟩. Its source is formed from Latin sub- + spīrō (“to breathe”). South of the Danube the verb is Aromanian suschir…
sălta
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin salto

It is inherited from Latin saltō (“to dance; to jump”). Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu and the REW in this. The Latin verb is a frequentative formed on saliō (“to jump”). In Classical Latin it meant…
sănătate
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sanitas

It is inherited from Latin sānitās (“health”), continued in its accusative sānitātem. The Latin noun is formed on sānus (“healthy, sound”) with the suffix -tās. The word survives south of the…
sări
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin salio

It is inherited from Latin saliō (“to jump, leap”), a verb of the fourth conjugation like its Romanian outcome. The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sl̥-ye-. The verb survives south of…
tare
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin talis

It is inherited from Latin tālis (“such, of such a kind”), from its accusative tālem. DER follows Pușcariu, the REW and Rosetti, and lists the Romance cognates Italian tale, French tel, Spanish tal…
taur
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin taurus

It is inherited from Latin taurus (“bull”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *táwros; its cognates include Ancient Greek ταῦρος (taûros). De Vaan notes that it lacks a sound change…
teară
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tela

It is inherited from Latin tēla (“web, cloth on the loom; warp”). Burlă first proposed the etymology, and Pușcariu and the REW accepted it. Ciorănescu rejects a Persian origin, a word for “thread…
timp
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tempus

It is inherited from Latin tempus (“time”). The Latin word comes from Proto-Indo-European *tempos (“stretch”). It survives as Megleno-Romanian timp. Aromanian keeps only the derivative timburiu…

All Romanian words inherited from Latin, by century →