Romanian words from Latin
1371 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 2).
alege
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…
alegere
It is the long infinitive of alege (“to choose”), used as a noun: from Romanian alege + -re. Hasdeu called it the substantivised infinitive of the verb, an abstract noun that carries nearly all the…
alerga
It is generally inherited from Vulgar Latin *allargō (“to go off into the distance”), a verb formed on largus (“abundant, generous, (late) wide”), whose late sense “wide” led to “far”, the sense the…
alina
Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *allēnō (“to soften, calm”), formed on lēnis (“soft, mild, calm”). Italian allenare and Sardinian allenare are compared with it. Philippide…
alinta
DEX, MDA2, Wiktionary and the DA take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *allentāre, from lentus (“pliant, flexible; slow”). Tiktin, Pușcariu, Scriban and the REW hold the same view. The Latin verb…
alior
It is probably inherited from Latin aureolus (“golden”), from aurum (“gold”), after the plant's yellow flowers. This was proposed by Candrea in 1928, who compared Occitan auriol, and is followed by…
alt
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *altru, the Vulgar Latin form of alter (“the other of two”). The Latin word is formed with a comparative suffix on the root of alius (“other”), and in all the…
altar
It is inherited from Latin altārium, or of its by-form altāre, a pan-Romance word. Classical Latin used the plural altāria for the top of the altar where the offerings were burnt; DELR relates it…
altminteri
The basic form is ⟨aimintre⟩, inherited from Latin aliā mente (“in another way”), the ablative of mēns (“mind”) used as in the adverbs of the other Romance languages. Ciorănescu and the DA note that…
aluat
It is inherited from Latin allevātum (“raised”), the neuter of the past participle of allevō (“to lift up, raise”), itself from levō (“to lighten, raise”) and levis (“light”). Pușcariu, Candrea and…
alună
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *abellōna, a variant of Latin abellāna (“hazelnut”), properly the “nut of Abella”, a town in Campania. Candrea and Densusianu explain the ending by the suffix -ōna…
aluneca
It is inherited from Latin lūbricō (“to make slippery; to be slippery”), from lūbricus (“slippery”). The older form lureca has the expected /r/, as Megleno-Romanian lurec does; DELR explains the /n/…
alunga
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *allongō (“to drive far off”), a verb formed on longus (“long”) and longē (“far off”). DELR equates it with Latin ēlongō (“to lengthen; to remove, go far away”)…
amăgi
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ammagīre, from Ancient Greek μαγεύω (mageúō, “to practise magic, to bewitch”). The Greek verb comes from μάγος (mágos, “Magus, sorcerer”), from Old Persian maguš…
amândoi
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *aminduī, from the phrase Latin ambō (“both”) duo (“two”), with the inflection regularised as ⟨ambī duī⟩ and a nasal carried forward from the first syllable. The…
amar
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…
amărî
It is usually taken as inherited from Vulgar Latin *amāriō, a form beside Latin amārēscō (“to become bitter”), from amārus (“bitter”): so Pușcariu, the REW, the DA, DEX and MDA2. The verb survives…
amenința
It is generally derived as inherited from Vulgar Latin *ammināciāre (“to threaten”), though DELR calls the etymology uncertain. The Latin verb is formed on minācia (“threat”), from mināx…
amesteca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ammixticō (“to mix”), a Vulgar Latin verb formed on mixtus (“mixed”), the past participle of misceō (“to mix”). Tiktin thinks of a simpler *mixticō. Aromanian has…
ameți
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *ammattiō, formed on Late Latin mattus (“drunk”), which may come from *maditus, a participle of madeō (“to be wet”). The DA points to the older form…
amnar
Its origin is disputed. Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu and the REW: it is inherited from Latin manuārius (“of the hand”), from manus (“hand”), and he compares the Romanian word for “handle”. DELR…
amuți
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ammūtīre, formed on Latin mūtus (“mute”) with the prefix ad-; Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the DA give this etymon, and DEX, MDA2 and Tiktin agree…
an
It is inherited from Latin annus (“year”), a word inherited by every Romance language. The Latin word comes from Proto-Italic *atnos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no-, probably from *h₂et- (“to…
animal
It is borrowed from Latin animal (“living being, animal”), a learned borrowing, later reinforced by French animal. Ciorănescu and the DA take the noun straight from French, Tiktin from animālis…
anțărț
It is inherited from Latin annō tertiō (“in the third year”), the ablative of annus (“year”) with tertius (“third”). Counting inclusively, the third year back is two years ago. The REW lists Romansh…
aoace
1. The word for “here” is inherited from Latin hōc(c)e (“hither”), as in the DA and DELR. DELR takes its ⟨a-⟩ either from the deictic ⟨a-⟩ of compounds with eccum or from the preposition a…
apă
It is inherited from Latin aqua (“water”), a word inherited by every Romance language. Latin /kʷ/ became /p/ before /a/, as in iapă from equa; Sardinian abba also has a labial. The Latin word comes…
apăra
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…
apărea
It is borrowed from Latin appāreō (“to appear”), a 19th-century loan conjugated like the native părea “to seem”. DELR and Tiktin name French apparaître beside the Latin verb. Ciorănescu sees a…
apăsa
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *appēnsō (“to weigh down”), a verb formed on Latin pēnsō (“to weigh”), the frequentative of pendō (“to hang; to weigh”). Since Classical Latin had the frequentative…
apătos
DELR gives it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *aquātōsus, a blend of aquōsus (“watery”) and aquātus (“watered, watery”), following the DA and Tiktin. Pușcariu reconstructed the same form, comparing…
apleca
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…
aplecăciune
It is formed from Romanian apleca + -ciune. The DA thought it a coinage of Țichindeal that never entered the common language. Wiktionary compares Latin applicātiō and calls it a doublet of…
apoi
It is inherited from Latin ad post (“after”), a phrase of ad (“to”) and post (“after, behind”). Ciorănescu compares the final /i/ with that of noi. The word survives in Aromanian as apoi and apoia…
apos
It is inherited from Latin aquōsus (“watery, abounding in water”). The Academy dictionary also compares French aqueux. MDA2 allows a Romanian formation as well, from Romanian apă + -os, and Tiktin…
aprinde
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…
aproape
It is inherited from Latin ad prope (“near to”), a phrase of ad (“to, at”) and prope (“near”). Wiktionary gives it as Vulgar Latin. The DA notes that it took the place of the simple adverb. The word…
apropia
It is inherited from Late Latin appropiō (“to come near”), a verb formed on Latin prope (“near”), which came to be used in the sense of classical appropinquō. It survives in Aromanian aprochiu and…
apuca
Its origin is uncertain; the explanation DELR favours is that it is inherited from Latin aucupor (“to go bird-catching; to try to catch”), with the diphthong simplified and a metathesis. This…
apune
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…
apusat
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *appausatus, the source MDA2 and Wiktionary give. Scriban glosses the Latin form as “quiet, undisturbed” and explains it as a compound of the same kind as Latin…
ara
It is inherited from Latin arō (“to plough”), a verb kept by the whole Romance family. The Latin verb comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plough”). It survives in all four branches…
arăduce
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…
arăta
Its origin is uncertain. DELR, MDA2, DEX and Wiktionary take it as probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *arrēctō (“to make straight”), from Latin rēctus (“straight”). The meaning would have gone…
arător
It is inherited from Latin arātōrius (“used for ploughing”), as DELR, Candrea and Densusianu and the DLRM give it, and for the noun inherited from Latin arātor (“ploughman”), as Ciorănescu, the REW…
arătură
It is inherited from Late Latin arātūra (“ploughing”), from arō (“to plough”). DEX and NODEX instead derive it within Romanian, from Romanian ara + -ătură. The Latin verb is from Proto-Indo-European…
arbore
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…
arboret
It is borrowed from Latin arborētum (“plantation of trees”), a learned loan, or a collective formed from Romanian arbore + -et: DELR gives both, and the DA calls it a recent collective modelled on…
arc
It is inherited from Latin arcus (“bow, arch”), a word continued across the Romance languages. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). De Vaan compares Germanic…
arde
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
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…
argint
It is inherited from Latin argentum (“silver”). DELR places the Latin word with arguō, argūmentum and argūtus, on a root meaning bright or shining. De Vaan traces it through Proto-Italic *argentom…
argintar
DELR gives two explanations. It may be inherited from Latin argentārius (“money-changer; of silver”), from argentum (“silver”): so Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW, the DA and Scriban. The Latin…
argintos
It is formed from Romanian argint + -os. The DA allows a second source as well, from Latin argentōsus (“rich in silver”), comparing French argenteux, Occitan argentous and Spanish argentoso. Candrea…
arici
It is inherited from Latin ēricius (“hedgehog”). It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian ariciu and Megleno-Romanian ariț. Its Romance cognates include Italian riccio, Sardinian rizzu and Spanish…
arie
1. The word for the threshing floor is inherited from Latin ārea (“open space, threshing floor”). It survives south of the Danube too: Aromanian arye and Megleno-Romanian aryie. The Romance cognates…
arin
It comes from alnus (“alder”), but the exact Latin form is disputed, and DELR calls the etymology uncertain. One view takes it as inherited from Latin alnīnus (“of alder”), recorded in the Lex…
arină
It is inherited from Latin arēna (“sand”). It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian arinã and Megleno-Romanian arină. Its Romance cognates include Italian rena, Sicilian rina, Old French areine…
arinos
It is inherited from Latin arēnōsus (“sandy”), according to the DA, Candrea and Densusianu, and MDA2. Tiktin and the DLRM derive it instead from Romanian arină + -os, from the old word for “sand”…
aripă
In most dictionaries it is inherited from Latin alapa (“a slap”), with a sense “something that flaps, a blade” that the Romance forms presuppose: French aube and Occitan aubo “paddle of a water…