Romanian words from Latin
2070 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 17).
joi
It is inherited from Latin diēs Iovis (“day of Jupiter”), with the noun “day” left out. Iovis is the genitive of Iuppiter (“Jupiter”). The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian gioi and…
jos
It is inherited from Late Latin diōsum, a popular form of Latin deorsum (“downwards”) that is also recorded as deosum. The Latin word was formed from dē- and vorsum, the old form of versum…
juca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *iocāre (“to play”), the active form spoken Latin used instead of the classical deponent Latin iocārī (“to jest, joke”). The Latin verb is formed on iocus (“joke…
jude
It is inherited from Latin iūdex (“judge”). The singular continues the Latin nominative, while the old plural ⟨judeci⟩ continues iūdicēs, as in cap with its plural ⟨capete⟩; a singular ⟨judec⟩ was…
judeca
It is inherited from Latin iūdicō (“to judge”). The Latin verb is made from iūdex (“judge”), a compound of iūs (“law”) with the root of dīcō (“to say”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian…
judecată
It is inherited from Latin iūdicāta, the plural of iūdicātum (“a thing judged, a judgement”) taken as a feminine singular. The Latin noun comes from the verb iūdicō (“to judge”). Wiktionary and…
judecător
It is formed from Romanian judeca + -ător, the verb with the agent suffix. The verb judeca is from Latin iūdicō (“to judge”). Candrea and Densusianu derived the noun directly from Latin…
județ
It is inherited from Latin iūdicium (“legal proceedings, trial; judgment”), which Latin formed on iūdex (“judge”). The DLR notes that the Latin word meant “judge” and “place of judgment” as well as…
jug
It is inherited from Latin iugum (“yoke”). The Latin word goes back through Proto-Italic *jugom to Proto-Indo-European *yugóm, formed on the root *yewg- (“to yoke, join”). Its cognates include…
jugar
It is formed from Romanian jug + -ar, “of the yoke”. Pușcariu, REW and Candrea–Densusianu took it instead directly from Latin iugārius (“bearing the yoke”), and Cihac and Șăineanu gave the same…
jumătate
Its origin is disputed. DEX and MDA2 call it of unknown origin. Ciorănescu and Tiktin take it as inherited, inherited from Late Latin medietās (“half, middle”), through a form with the consonants…
junc
It is inherited from Latin iuvencus (“young bull”). The Latin word is a derivative of the stem of iuvenis (“young”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁n̥ḱós (“young animal”); De Vaan explains its…
juncă
It is inherited from Latin iuvenca (“heifer”), the feminine of iuvencus (“young bull”). Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of junc, adding that it may continue the Latin word, as Pușcariu and…
june
The noun “young man” is inherited from Latin iuvenis (“young man; young”). Its use as an adjective “young” is newer: Ciorănescu calls it a neologism taken from French jeune, Tiktin says the sense…
junghia
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…
junincă
It is inherited from Latin iūnīx (“young cow, heifer”), from the accusative iūnīcem. Candrea and Densusianu explain the form with a second /n/ as a repetition of the /n/ before the following…
jur
It is usually taken as inherited from Latin gȳrus (“circle, ring”), which Latin borrowed from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “circle”). Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW give the same etymon…
jura
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…
jurământ
It is inherited from Late Latin iūrāmentum (“oath”), formed on iūrō (“to swear”). The Latin verb is a denominative of iūs. The noun survives in Megleno-Romanian jurămint, and Aromanian has…
la
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…
lac
1. The word for “lake” is inherited from Latin lacus (“lake, pond”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian lac, Megleno-Romanian lac and Istro-Romanian lǫc. Its Romance cognates include…
lacrimă
It is inherited from Latin lacrima (“tear”), through the older Romanian form lacrămă. Old Latin also had the spellings ⟨lacruma⟩ and ⟨dacrima⟩. The OLD takes the Latin word as probably borrowed from…
lăcrima
It is inherited from Latin lacrimō (“to shed tears, weep”), from lacrima (“tear”). Pușcariu (EWRS no. 933), Candrea and Densusianu and the DA take it straight from the Latin verb; Ciorănescu treats…
lăcrimos
It is inherited from Latin lacrimōsus (“tearful, full of tears”), an adjective formed in Latin on lacrima (“tear”) with -ōsus. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of lacrimă, and notes that…
lăcustă
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lacusta (“locust”), a form of locusta. Tiktin thinks the vowel was probably changed under the influence of lacus (“lake”), because locusts were believed to come…
lamură
It is probably inherited from Latin lāmina (“thin sheet of metal; bar of precious metal”), so that the old phrases for pure gold and silver first meant “bar gold”, “bar silver”. Ciorănescu accepts…
lămuri
It is formed from Romanian lamură + -i, from the noun for pure, refined metal and the best part of anything. The noun is from Latin lāmina (“thin sheet of metal; bar of gold or silver”). Ciorănescu…
lână
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…
lânced
It is inherited from Latin languidus (“faint, weak”). The Latin adjective is formed from langueō (“to be faint, weary”) with the suffix -idus. Ciorănescu notes that among the Romance languages only…
lângă
It is inherited from Latin longō (“along”), an oblique case of longus (“long”) in which unstressed /un/ became /ɨn/, according to Candrea and Densusianu, the REW, Pascu and Ciorănescu. Pușcariu…
lapte
It is inherited from Late Latin lactem (“milk”), the late accusative of Latin lac (“milk”). DEX, MDA2 and the DLR cite the classical noun with its genitive. The accusative form is attested as early…
lapți
It is inherited from Latin lactēs, a feminine plural that meant “small intestines” and also “milt”. The milt was named for its milky look: the Latin word belongs with lac (“milk”), and Romanian…
lăptucă
It is inherited from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”). Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu (article 941), Candrea–Densusianu (947) and the REW for this. The Latin plant name is formed on lac (“milk”) with the suffix…
lard
It is inherited from Latin lardum (“bacon fat”), the contracted form of lāridum. Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW agree on it. It has a match in Istro-Romanian lǫrd, and Romance cognates…
larg
It is inherited from Latin largus (“abundant, generous; spacious”). The Latin word meant above all “abundant, generous”; according to the DHLF it took over the physical sense of latus (“broad”) in…
lăsa
It is inherited from Latin laxō (“to loosen, slacken”). The Latin verb, formed from laxus (“loose”), meant to widen and to slacken. In Vulgar Latin it replaced Classical relinquō (“to leave”). The…
lat
It is inherited from Latin lātus (“wide, broad”). It survives in Aromanian lat. Its Romance cognates include Italian lato, French lé and Occitan lat. The Latin adjective had an older form stlātus…
laț
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *laceus, the popular form of Latin laqueus (“loop of rope, noose, snare”). Ciorănescu and the Academy dictionary give the classical form itself, citing Diez…
latin
It is borrowed from Latin latīnus (“of Latium, Latin”). DEX names French latin as a second source, and MDA2 adds Italian latino; Tiktin calls the etymology multiple. The Latin adjective is derived…
lătra
It is inherited from Latin lātrō (“to bark”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian alatru, Megleno-Romanian latru and Istro-Romanian lǫtru. Its Romance cognates include Italian latrare…
latură
Its origin is disputed. According to DEX, NODEX and MDA2 it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *latora (“sides”), a variant of Latin latera, the plural of latus (“side, flank”). Pușcariu…
lături
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lavatūra (“washing water”) in the plural, *lavatūrae, a derivative of Latin lavō (“to wash”); the singular is lătură “dishwater”. Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu…
laudă
It is a back-formation from Romanian lăuda (“to praise”). The verb continues Latin laudō (“to praise”). Tiktin and Ciorănescu leave open whether the noun is formed on the verb or continues inherited…
lăuda
It is inherited from Latin laudō (“to praise”). The Latin verb is formed on laus (“praise”). Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu, and the REW give the same source. The verb survives south of the…
laur
It is inherited from Latin laurus (“laurel, bay”). In the inherited word the name passed to a quite different plant, the thorn apple (“Datura stramonium”), the sense the REW gives for Romanian…
lăuruscă
It is inherited from Latin labrusca (“wild vine”). Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu, the REW and the DA give the same etymon. The origin of the Latin word is unknown; Nocentini takes it for a loan…
lecție
It is borrowed from Latin lēctiō (“reading”), also borrowed from German Lektion (“lesson”). Ciorănescu derives it from Latin with the pronunciation of the German word, of the 19th century, and…
lega
1. The verb for tying and binding is inherited from Latin ligō (“to tie, bind”). Wiktionary traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to bind”). It survives in all four branches…
legământ
It is inherited from Latin ligāmentum (“band, bandage”), the view of Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the DA, DEX and MDA2. Ciorănescu, and the REW as a second possibility, take it instead as a…
legăna
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *liginō (“to tie up”), formed on Latin ligō (“to tie, bind”). Pușcariu proposed this etymon, and Tiktin and the REW explain the meaning from the peasant…
legătură
It is inherited from Late Latin ligātūra (“a band, binding”). Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the Academy dictionary also take it straight from Latin, while Ciorănescu lists it among the…
lege
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…
legumă
It is inherited from Latin legūmen (“pulse, leguminous plant”). Its Romance cognates include Italian legume, Portuguese legume, Old French leun and Spanish legumbre. The Latin word is of uncertain…
lemn
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…
lemnamă
DLR and MDA2 take it as inherited from Latin lignāmen (“timber”). Ciorănescu says only that it seems to reproduce that Latin word, after the DA, and Wiktionary gives as an alternative a Romanian…
lepăda
It is probably inherited from Latin lapidō (“to throw stones at, to stone”), a verb formed on lapis (“stone”). Tiktin calls the change of meaning remarkable. Ciorănescu grants that the sense is the…
leșie
It is inherited from Latin lixīva (“lye”), the noun use of the adjective lixīvus (“made into lye”) used with aqua (“water”), from lixa (“water mixed with ashes”). The word survives in Istro-Romanian…
leu
1. The word for the lion is borrowed from Latin leō (“lion”), according to Ciorănescu a learned loan, which he dates to the 17th century. Inheritance is hard on the sound: Latin short /e/ would have…
liber
1. The word for the bast of plants is a learned loan: the DLR and MDA2 take it borrowed from Latin liber (“inner bark of a tree; book”) and French liber, the French botanical term. The neologism…
libertate
It is a learned word, borrowed from French liberté, and directly borrowed from Latin lībertās (“freedom”): DEX 2009, MDA2, Tiktin, the DLR and Wiktionary name both sources. Marcu & Maneca give Latin…