Romanian words from Latin
2024 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 13).
găinaț
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…
galben
It is inherited from Latin galbinus (“greenish-yellow”). The Latin word is first found in imperial authors such as Petronius and Martial, of greenish-yellow clothes, and not in Republican Latin. Its…
găleată
It is inherited from Late Latin galleta (“bucket”), a Late Latin word recorded in a glossary. Wiktionary takes it as a diminutive of a Vulgar Latin *galla (“vessel”), perhaps of Gaulish origin, but…
găun
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *cavō (“hollow, hole”), from cavus (“hollow”). The DA, after Pușcariu, gives this etymon, and the REW lists it with relatives in southern Italian dialects and…
gaură
Most sources take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *cavula (“little hollow”), a diminutive of Latin cavus (“hollow”). Candrea and Densusianu note that the change of /k/ to /ɡ/, found in other…
geamăn
It is inherited from Latin geminus (“twin-born, twin”). Aromanian has dzeamin. Of the Romance languages, Portuguese gémeo is likewise inherited, while Italian gemino is a learned word; French jumeau…
geamăt
It is inherited from Latin gemitus (“groan, sigh”), from gemō (“to groan”). Ciorănescu, who names Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW for this etymon, thinks it may just as well be a formation…
geană
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *genna, an altered form of Latin gena (“cheek”). Ciorănescu calls the double /n/ of the Vulgar Latin form insufficiently explained. Candrea and Densusianu put it…
geme
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…
gen
It is borrowed from Latin genus (“birth, race, kind”), a neologism of the 19th century in Ciorănescu's dating. Latin genus goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os (“race”), from the root *ǵenh₁-…
geniu
It is a learned borrowing borrowed from Latin genius (“guardian spirit; inborn talent”), which Ciorănescu dates to the 19th century. DEX, MDA2, Tiktin and the DA give borrowed from French génie…
genunchi
It is inherited from Late Latin genuculum (“knee”), an alteration of geniculum (“little knee”), the diminutive of genū (“knee”). The diminutive replaced the plain Latin word for “knee” entirely in…
genune
Its origin is disputed, and DEX and MDA2 call it unknown. Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Latin caerula (“the blue of the sea, the sea”), with the variant geroe from caerulea. The regular…
ger
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-…
german
It is borrowed from Latin Germānus (“German”), a learned word. Ciorănescu dates the borrowing to the 19th century; Marcu also names French germain. The Latin name, first used by Caesar and Tacitus…
gheață
It is inherited from Latin glacia (“ice”), a by-form of glaciēs found in the Latin glossaries. Wiktionary reconstructs the spoken forms as Vulgar Latin *glacium and *glacia. The origin of the Latin…
gheb
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *glibbus, a metathesised form of *gibbulus, from Latin gibbus (“hump”). Tiktin gives the same etymology after the REW and Pușcariu. Ciorănescu reconstructs…
ghem
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *glemus (“ball of thread”), a popular form of Latin glomus (“ball of yarn”). Pușcariu and Tiktin note that the ⟨e⟩ also appears in Venetian gemo and in Albanian…
gheura
Its origin is uncertain. Candrea and Densusianu, followed by the REW, the DA and Rosetti, consider it inherited from Latin glabrō (“to make smooth, strip of hair”), which is formed on glaber…
ghimpe
The origin is disputed. Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *pungulum, formed on pungō (“to prick”), the source also of Italian pungolo: ⟨*punglu⟩ would have become ⟨*glumpu⟩ by…
ghindă
It is inherited from Latin glāns (“acorn”), probably through *glanda, with a change of declension. Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW and the DA in this, but thinks a start…
ghindură
It is inherited from Latin glandula (“gland, tonsil”), a diminutive formed on glāns (“acorn”). Intervocalic /l/ became /r/, as the Lexicon de la Buda already noted. The word survives south of the…
ghioc
1. The word for the cornflower is of unknown origin for DEX, MDA2 and Tiktin. Șăineanu derived it from Latin glaucus (“bluish grey”). Scriban saw in it a shortened form of zglăvoc, another folk name…
ginere
It is inherited from Latin gener (“son-in-law”). The Latin word comes from Proto-Indo-European *ǵm̥ros, and its ⟨n⟩ is explained from an earlier ⟨m⟩; Ancient Greek γαμβρός (gambrós, “son-in-law…
gingie
It is inherited from Latin gingīva (“gum”), a word continued across the Romance languages. It survives in Aromanian dzindzie and in Istro-Romanian žinžire, which comes from the variant gingină. Its…
gint
It is inherited from Latin gēns (“race, nation, people”), from its accusative gentem. Wiktionary posits a Vulgar Latin *gentum, with a change of declension that made the word neuter. The Latin noun…
grangur
It is inherited from Latin galgulus (“a yellow bird, perhaps the golden oriole”), a form of galbulus with assimilation. Wiktionary traces it to galbus (“yellow”). Candrea and Densusianu explain the…
gras
It is inherited from Late Latin grassus (“fat”), a popular form of crassus (“thick, fat”). Candrea and Densusianu and DA explain the initial /g/ by the influence of grossus (“thick”). De Vaan finds…
grătar
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *gratārium, from *gratis, a variant of Latin crātis (“wickerwork, hurdle”). Pușcariu, the DA and CADE start instead from *gratālis, formed on the same…
gratie
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *gratis, a popular form of Latin crātis (“wickerwork, hurdle”). Tiktin calls the etymon probable. Candrea and Densusianu explain the voiced /g/ for Latin /k/ by the…
grâu
It is inherited from Latin grānum (“grain, seed”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm, “that which has ripened; grain”. It survives in all four branches: Aromanian grãn…
grăunte
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *granuceum, a diminutive of Latin grānum (“grain”), through the older singular grăunț. Ciorănescu gives *granutium beside the form in ⟨-uceum⟩ of Densusianu…
graur
It is inherited from Latin graulus (“crow”), a popular form of grāculus (“jackdaw”) recorded in the Latin glosses. Candrea started from *gravulus, and Wiktionary gives both this and *graulus. The…
grav
It is borrowed from French grave and directly borrowed from Latin gravis (“heavy, weighty”), the two sources DEX, MDA2 and Marcu name. Marcu & Maneca add Italian grave, and Tiktin and Scriban give…
grec
It is inherited from Latin graecus (“Greek”). The Latin word is from Ancient Greek Γραικός (Graikós). In Greek the old ethnic name became, under Ottoman rule, a common name for the Greeks. The word…
greier
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *grylliolus, a diminutive of Latin gryllus (“cricket”), according to Candrea and Densusianu, DEX and Wiktionary. MDA2, Ciorănescu and the REW give the simple noun…
greu
It is inherited from Latin grevis (“heavy”), a popular form of gravis (“heavy”) remade after its opposite levis (“light”). Wiktionary notes that the popular form is recorded in an eighth-century…
greutate
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *grevitātem, the popular form of Latin gravitās (“heaviness, weight”), according to MDA2, Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and Wiktionary. Candrea–Densusianu add that…
grindină
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…
gros
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…
grui
1. The word for the hillock is inherited from Late Latin grunnium (“pig's snout”) for Ciorănescu, who follows Candrea and Scriban, and for Tiktin, who follows Papahagi. Wiktionary and NODEX agree…
grum
It is inherited from Latin grūmus (“heap of earth, hillock”), according to Ciorănescu, Cihac and Wiktionary. Ciorănescu notes that the word occurs only in the old dictionaries and that no modern…
gură
It is inherited from Latin gula (“throat, gullet”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian gurã, Megleno-Romanian gură and Istro-Romanian gurę. Its Romance cognates include Italian gola, French…
gușă
It is inherited from Late Latin geusiae (“throat, jaws”), probably through a reduced form Vulgar Latin *gusia. The Latin word is recorded around 400 and is thought to be of Gaulish origin. Tiktin…
gust
It is inherited from Latin gustus (“taste”), from Proto-Italic *gustus and Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwstus (“taste”). It survives in Aromanian as gustu and in Istro-Romanian as gust. Its Romance…
gusta
It is inherited from Latin gustō (“to taste”). Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW and the DA take it straight from the Latin verb, while Ciorănescu treats it as a derivative of the noun gust…
gutui
It is inherited from Latin cotōneus (“of the quince”), from Ancient Greek κυδώνιος (kudṓnios, “Cydonian”), probably through a form Vulgar Latin *cottaneus crossed with cottana (“a small fig”). The…
guturai
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *gutturālium, from Latin gutturālia, the neuter plural of gutturālis (“of the throat”), from guttur (“throat”). Ciorănescu compares Latin gutturnia (“a swelling”)…
guvernator
DEX and MDA2 take it as formed from Romanian guverna + -tor, MDA2 comparing Russian губернатор (gubernator). Tiktin, whose first record is older than the verb's, derives it from Latin gubernātor…
holba
It is most often explained as inherited from Latin volvō (“to roll, turn”), with a change of conjugation, through the variant volba. Candrea and Densusianu explain the /h/ for /v/ before a labial as…
iapă
It is inherited from Latin equa (“mare”), the feminine of equus (“horse”), which comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos (“horse”). Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW give the same etymon…
iar
Its origin is uncertain. Ciorănescu, following Schuchardt, Gaston Paris, Meyer-Lübke, Pușcariu and the REW, thinks it is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *era (“also”). The REW compares Romansh…
iarbă
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…
iarnă
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…
iască
It is inherited from Latin ēsca (“food, bait”), a derivative of edō (“to eat”). The REW records the Latin word in three senses, “food”, “bait” and “tinder”; Graur traces the Romanian sense from…
ici
It is inherited from Latin hīcce (“here”) according to DA, DEX and DELR, a form of hīc (“here”) with the deictic particle -ce; a form ice is found in a Christian inscription. Wiktionary writes the…
idee
It is borrowed from French idée and directly borrowed from Latin idea; DEX, MDA2 and the neologism dictionaries give both sources, while Ciorănescu names only the French word. Tiktin gives the Greek…
ied
It is inherited from Latin haedus (“young goat, kid”). The Latin word has no Indo-European root and is probably a loan; its only sure cognate is Proto-Germanic *gaits (“goat”). The word survives in…
iederă
It is inherited from Latin hedera (“ivy”). The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian eadiri and Megleno-Romanian iadră. Its Romance cognates include Italian edera, Occitan edra, French…
iepure
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…