Romanian words from Latin
2038 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 14).
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…
ierbos
It is inherited from Latin herbōsus (“grassy”), an adjective formed on herba (“grass, vegetation”). DEX gives the Latin adjective or a native formation from Romanian iarbă + -os as equal…
ieri
It is inherited from Latin herī (“yesterday”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian aieri or Aromanian aeri, Megleno-Romanian ieri and Istro-Romanian ieri. Its Romance cognates include…
ierna
It is inherited from Latin hībernō (“to spend the winter”), a verb formed on hībernus (“of winter”). DEX also allows a Romanian formation on iarnă. The word survives south of the Danube as Aromanian…
ierta
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lībertō (“to set free”), a popular Latin verb that the DA and the REW reconstruct. Wiktionary gives it as Latin and derives it ultimately from lībertās (“liberty…
ieși
It is inherited from Latin exeō (“to go out”), formed from ex- (“out of”) and eō (“to go”). It survives in Aromanian es and Megleno-Romanian ies. Romance cognates include Italian escire, the older…
ieșire
It is formed from Romanian ieși + -re: the long infinitive of the verb, used as a noun. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of the verb. The verb is from Latin exeō (“to go out”).
ignora
It is borrowed from French ignorer, borrowed from Latin ignōrō (“not to know”): DEX, MDN, DILF and NODEX name both sources. MDA2 names Italian ignorare beside the French verb, and the DN compares…
ilegal
It is borrowed from French illégal, according to DEX, MDA2 and the DILF. The neologism dictionaries add Italian illegale and Medieval Latin illēgālis. The Medieval Latin word is formed from Latin…
im
It is inherited from Latin līmus (“mud, slime”). The Latin initial /l/ was lost, as in “flax” comes from līnum. The Romance cognates include Italian limo, Occitan lim, Catalan llim, Spanish limo…
imagine
It is borrowed from Latin imāgō (“likeness, image”), with its stem from the accusative imāginem, and with senses taken from French image. The DA and Scriban give only the Latin word. Tiktin compares…
îmbăgiua
The origin is uncertain. Drăganu proposed a lost noun *îmbăgea that would continue inherited from Vulgar Latin *ambagella, a diminutive of Latin ambāgēs (“roundabout way, evasion”); DA accepted it…
îmbăta
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *imbibitō, formed on Latin bibitus (“drunk”), the past participle of bibō (“to drink”), which also gave beat (“drunk”). DELR compares Occitan embeuda, Old Spanish…
îmbi
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ambi (“both”), with the feminine ambae, the plural forms that took the place of Classical ambō. The word survives south of the Danube as Aromanian îmbi. Its…
îmbia
Its origin is disputed. The usual view, given by DEX 2009 and NODEX, is that it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *inviō (“to compel”). The DA explains that verb, after Pușcariu, as formed on the stem…
îmbina
It is generally taken as inherited from Vulgar Latin *imbinō (“to unite”), from bīnī (“two each, a pair”). Ciorănescu names the Lexicon de la Buda, Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW for this…
îmbrăca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *imbrācāre (“to put on trousers”), formed on Latin brāca (“trousers, breeches”). DER cites Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW and the DA for this etymon. The…
îmbuca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *imbuccō (“to put into the mouth”), from bucca (“cheek; mouth”). The Latin word meant “cheek” and, in colloquial speech, “mouth”. The verb survives south of the…
imos
It is inherited from Latin līmōsus (“muddy, slimy”), formed on līmus (“mud, slime”). Candrea and Densusianu take it from the Latin word, with its sound shaped by im “mud”. Tiktin and DLRLV instead…
împăca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *impācō (“to pacify”), a prefixed form of pācō (“to make peaceful, pacify”), as MDA2 and DEX give it. Ciorănescu and the DA think instead that the prefix în- was…
împăra
It is inherited from Late Latin impālō (“to fix with stakes”), formed with in- on pālus (“stake”). The Latin verb is recorded in the law codes of the Burgundians and other Germanic peoples. Candrea…
împărat
It is inherited from Latin imperātor (“commander, emperor”), from imperō (“to command”). Ciorănescu and Scriban note that it continues the Latin nominative, not the accusative, as Albanian mbret…
împărți
It is inherited from Late Latin impartiō (“to share, divide”), the form behind the Romanian verb in DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary. The REW lists the Romanian verb under this Latin one, beside Italian…
împătra
It is probably inherited from Latin patrō (“to accomplish”), with the sense of impetrō (“to obtain”), as Bogrea proposed. MDA2 and DLRM reconstruct Vulgar Latin *impatrō, a form of the latter, and…
împiedica
It is inherited from Latin impedicō (“to catch by the feet, entangle”), as DER, DEX, MDA2 and the DA agree. The Latin verb is formed on in- and pedica (“fetter, snare for the feet”), itself from pēs…
împila
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *impillō (“to pound in a fulling mill”), from pilō (“to press, ram down”). The DA explains its double ⟨ll⟩ as a form found in other Romance languages too…
împinge
It is inherited from Latin impingō (“to thrust into, push”). The verb survives as Aromanian pingu. Papahagi derives it from Latin pingō, Pascu from a variant of the classical pangō (“to fix…
împlânta
It is inherited from Latin implantō (“to plant in, set in”) according to DEX, NODEX and MDA2, which marks the Latin form as reconstructed. Ciorănescu, Tiktin and the DA start instead from the simple…
împlini
It is generally taken as inherited from Vulgar Latin *impleniō, a verb formed on plēnus (“full”). Ciorănescu names Densusianu, Candrea–Densusianu and Pușcariu for this etymon, while Cihac derived…
impresie
It is borrowed from French impression, also borrowed from Latin impressiō. Tiktin and Wiktionary give French alone, while the Marcu–Maneca dictionary also compares Italian impressione. The French…
împresura
Tiktin, the DA and MDA2 see it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *pressūrō (“to press”), a verb from pressūra (“pressure, pressing”), with the prefix în-; the view goes back to Cipariu and is followed…
împrinde
The DA, Tiktin and DLRM see it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *imprendō, a compound of prendō (“to seize”); the DA compares Late Latin imprensibilis. MDA2 explains it instead as a formation from…
împrumut
It is inherited from Latin in prōmūtuum (“as an advance, on loan”), a phrase built on prōmūtuum (“an advance of money, a loan”). MDA2 marks the phrase as reconstructed. The Latin noun is formed from…
împrumuta
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *imprōmūtuō (“to borrow”), a Vulgar Latin verb that the REW reconstructs for Romanian, Italian improntare, French emprunter and Occitan emprumtar. Latin itself has…
împunge
It is inherited from Latin impungō (“to prick into”). MDA2 and Wiktionary mark it as reconstructed, while Candrea–Densusianu find it in a Latin glossary. Ciorănescu, Tiktin, Pușcariu and the REW…
în
It is inherited from Latin in (“in, into”), like Italian in, French en, Catalan en, Spanish en and Portuguese em. It survives as Aromanian în and Istro-Romanian ăn. The older and fuller întru is…
înainte
It is inherited from Late Latin ab ante (“before”) with the Romanian prefix în- added, according to Ciorănescu and Wiktionary. DEX and MDA2 give a Latin compound in ab ante directly. Ciorănescu…
înalt
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…
înălța
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *inaltiō (“to raise”), formed on altus (“high”). Ciorănescu gives three possibilities: an inner derivative of înalt, or a Latin *altiāre (Diez, Pușcariu), or the…
înălțime
It is formed from Romanian înalt (“high”) + -ime, the suffix of abstract nouns. The adjective înalt continues from Latin altus (“high”); its initial ⟨în-⟩ has been explained by in altō used as an…
inamic
It is borrowed from Latin inimīcus (“unfriendly, enemy”), first as inimic and later remade after amic (“friend”). According to the DA, the remade form was common in military language and spread from…
înăuntru
Its origin is uncertain. It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *in illac intro (“in there, inside”), as DEX and MDA2 give it, following Tiktin and the DA. Candrea proposed *in ad intro instead…
încă
It is inherited from Latin unquam (“ever, at any time”) according to DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary. Ciorănescu calls this probable. Pușcariu proposed this etymon with some hesitation, and…
încăleca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *incaballicō (“to mount a horse”), a prefixed form of caballicō (“to ride”), from caballus (“horse, nag”). Ciorănescu, Tiktin, the DA and the REW start from the…
încălța
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *incalciō (“to put shoes on”), formed with in- beside Latin calceō (“to shoe”), according to DER, Candrea–Densusianu, the DA and MDA2. The REW lists the Romanian…
încălțăminte
It is inherited from Latin calceāmentum (“footwear”), also spelled calciāmentum. Candrea and Densusianu derive the feminine from the Latin plural calceāmenta, which became a singular, and Șăineanu…
încăpea
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *incapiō, a compound of in- (“in”) and capiō (“to take; to hold, contain”). Its infinitive in ⟨-ea⟩ points to a Latin infinitive in ⟨-ēre⟩ in place of the classical…
încărca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *incarricō, formed in Latin on carricō (“to load a cart”). Ciorănescu derives it from that Latin verb itself, attested as ⟨carcati⟩ in the Reichenau Glosses, with…
încări
It is inherited from Latin incalēscō (“to grow warm”), which passed into the fourth conjugation, as Latin inchoative verbs did in Romanian. MDA2 gives the same etymon, and Tiktin starts from the…
incendiu
It is a learned borrowing borrowed from Latin incendium (“conflagration”), as DEX, MDA2 and the DA give it. DEX, DN and Wikționar compare Italian incendio and French incendie, which Tiktin and MDN…
începe
It is inherited from Latin incipiō (“to begin”). The Latin verb is formed from in- and capiō (“to seize, take”). The verb survives in Aromanian ntsep. Outside Romanian it was kept only in Romansh…
încerca
Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *incircō, a popular Latin compound of circō (“to go round”). The DA explains that its original sense was to encircle, and that it later took…
încet
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *quetus (“quiet, calm”), the popular form of Classical quiētus, with the prefix în- added later in Romanian. Ciorănescu compares împrejur and înainte for the…