Romanian words from Latin
2429 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 22).
luced
It is inherited from Latin lūcidus (“bright, shining”), as Bogrea proposed. The Latin adjective is formed on lūceō (“to shine”) with -idus. The REW sets it beside Spanish lucio and Portuguese luzio…
luci
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lūcīre, a fourth-conjugation variant of Latin lūceō (“to shine”). Tiktin notes that the change of conjugation is widespread in Romance. The Latin verb belongs with…
lucoare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lūcōrem (“brightness”), from Latin lūceō (“to shine”). DEX gives the Latin noun as lucor. DELI records the Latin noun as a late word, from the 6th century. The…
lucra
It is most probably inherited from Late Latin lucrō (“to gain, profit”), from lucror (“to gain”), a verb formed on lucrum (“gain, profit”). Ciorănescu finds the shift from “to gain” to “to work”…
lucrare
It is the long infinitive of lucra (“to work”), formed from Romanian lucra + -re, and so a verbal noun “the act of working and its result”. The verb is from Latin lucrāre (“to gain, profit”)…
lucru
It is inherited from Latin lucrum (“material gain, profit”) according to Pușcariu and the REW, a view Ciorănescu accepts as probable. The word exists in all four branches: Aromanian lucru…
lumânare
It is inherited from Late Latin lūmināria, the neuter plural of lūmināre (“light, lamp”), from lūmen (“light”). Ciorănescu and Tiktin give the Latin singular as the etymon, and Ciorănescu notes that…
lume
It is inherited from Latin lūmen (“light”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian lume, Megleno-Romanian lumi and Istro-Romanian lume. Its Romance cognates keep the sense “light” or “fire”…
lumina
Most dictionaries take it as a verb formed from Romanian lumină (“light”) within the language. Ciorănescu treats it as a derivative of the noun as well: its conjugation looks Romanian, and the /i/…
lumină
It is inherited from Latin lūmina, the plural of lūmen (“light”), taken as a feminine singular. The stress moved from the first syllable to the second; Ciorănescu suggests a confusion with the…
luminos
For DEX, Scriban, Șăineanu and Graur it is inherited from Latin lūminōsus (“full of light”). DLR and MDA2 form it from Romanian lumină + -os. Tiktin allows both, and adds that the word at least…
lună
It is inherited from Latin lūna (“moon”). The DÉRom counts it among the words inherited from Proto-Romance. The Latin word is Old Latin losna, from Proto-Italic *louksnā, from Proto-Indo-European…
lunatic
It is borrowed from Latin lūnāticus (“moonstruck, epileptic”), and in its modern senses also borrowed from French lunatique. The neologism dictionaries add Italian lunatico. Tiktin thinks the word…
lung
It is inherited from Latin longus (“long”). Wiktionary takes the Latin word back to Proto-Indo-European *dl̥h₁gʰós (“long”). De Vaan reconstructs *dlongʰos for Latin and Germanic and notes that the…
lungi
It is formed from Romanian lung (“long”) + -i, as Ciorănescu, Tiktin, MDA2, the DEX and the DLR derive it. The adjective is from Latin longus (“long”). Wiktionary also allows Vulgar Latin *longiō…
lungime
It is formed from Romanian lung + -ime. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of the adjective and finds Meyer's Latin *longimen unnecessary. Wiktionary also prefers the Romanian derivation. The…
luni
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lūnis, an analogical form of diēs Lūnae (“day of the Moon”) made after Mārtis and Iovis, the genitives in the names of Tuesday and Thursday. The Latin phrase is a…
luntre
It is inherited from Latin lunter (“small boat”), a popular variant of linter (“trough; skiff”). De Vaan gives the Latin word no etymology; Wiktionary compares Ancient Greek πλυντήρ (pluntḗr) and…
lup
It is inherited from Latin lupus (“wolf”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian lup, Megleno-Romanian lup and Istro-Romanian lup. Its Romance cognates include Italian lupo, Occitan lop…
lupta
It is inherited from Latin luctor (“to wrestle, struggle”), through the active form luctāre that Old Latin used beside the classical deponent. The Latin verb was first a term of athletics, “to…
luptă
It is inherited from Late Latin lucta (“wrestling, struggle”), a noun formed on lūctor (“to wrestle”). The Latin verb is a frequentative, which de Vaan derives from a participle meaning “bent” and…
luptător
It is formed from Romanian lupta (“to fight”) + -ător, as Tiktin, the DLR, the DEX and MDA2 derive it. The verb is from Latin luctor (“to wrestle”). Wiktionary instead takes the noun straight from…
lut
It is inherited from Latin lutum (“mud, dirt, clay”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian lut, Megleno-Romanian lut and Istro-Romanian lut. Its Romance cognates include Italian loto…
măcelar
It is inherited from Latin macellārius (“butcher, meat seller”), from macellum (“meat market”). Its Romance cognates include Italian macellaio, Old French maiselier and Occitan mazelier. Tiktin…
măcina
It is inherited from Late Latin māchinō (“to grind”), the Late Latin verb formed on Latin māchina (“machine; mill”). The classical verb was the deponent māchinor (“to devise, contrive”), which…
măciucă
Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *matteūca (“club”). This form is built on *mattea, which is preserved in the Latin diminutive mateola (“mallet”). Its Romance cognates…
macru
It is inherited from Latin macer (“thin, lean”), from its accusative macrum. Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu (no. 1012), Candrea–Densusianu (no. 1037) and the REW for this etymology. The word survives…
mădular
It is inherited from Latin medullāris (“of the marrow”). Tiktin thinks the noun arose from os medullare (“marrow bone”), and points to a 9th-century glossary that explains medullarum as membrorum…
măduvă
It is inherited from Latin medulla (“marrow, pith”). The Latin word gave măduă, and the hiatus was then filled by /v/ (elsewhere /h/ or /g/), as in văduvă. Candrea and Densusianu explain the shift…
maiestate
It is borrowed from Latin maiestās (“greatness, dignity, majesty”), a neologism with French majesté as a second source. MDA2 adds German Majestät as a third model. The Latin noun is formed on the…
măiestru
It is inherited from Latin magister (“master, teacher”), perhaps through a Vulgar Latin form *maistrum. Ciorănescu cites Pușcariu (no. 1016), Candrea–Densusianu (no. 1043), the REW and Tiktin, and…
mâine
It is inherited from Latin māne (“in the morning, early”). The Latin word was an adverb meaning “early in the day”, and Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to ripen, mature”)…
malefic
It is borrowed from French maléfique, a learned borrowing of the modern period. The French adjective is from Latin maleficus (“evil-doing, wicked”), itself formed from male (“badly”) and the suffix…
mamă
It is probably inherited from Latin mamma (“breast; mother”). Ciorănescu calls it an expressive nursery word, built on the idea of food and the person who gives it, which is why it can mean both…
mămică
It is formed from Romanian mamă + -ică, a diminutive with the suffix used for endearment. The base noun is from Latin mamma, which Ciorănescu takes as an expressive nursery word, probably the direct…
mâna
It is inherited from Latin minō (“to drive (animals)”), a by-form of minor (“to threaten”). Lewis and Short explain the sense “to drive” by the threatening shouts of cattle drivers; the verb is…
mână
It is inherited from Latin manus (“hand”). Wiktionary and Pușcariu set up a Vulgar Latin *mana in between, with the feminine ending -a, and Pușcariu found it in Tuscan, southern Italian, Old…
mânc
It is inherited from Latin mancus (“maimed, crippled”). Ciorănescu cites Densusianu, Candrea and Scriban for this; he doubts Pușcariu's link of the Moldavian adjective manc (“imperfect, faulty”)…
mânca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *manucāre (“to eat”), a reduced form of Latin mandūcō (“to chew, eat”). Ciorănescu prefers this form to the *manicāre that Diez, Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu…
mâncare
It is the long infinitive of mânca (“to eat”), formed from Romanian mânca + -re, and is used as a noun both for the act of eating and for food. The verb is from Vulgar Latin *manucō, a reduced form…
mânea
It is inherited from Latin maneō (“to remain, stay”). The Latin verb comes from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stay, stand still”). It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian amîn. The Romance…
mânecă
It is inherited from Latin manica (“sleeve”), formed on manus (“hand”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian mãnicã, Megleno-Romanian mǫnică and Istro-Romanian mărecă. Its Romance cognates…
mângâia
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *manganeō (“to bewitch”), from Ancient Greek μαγγανεύω (manganeúō, “to use charms or philtres”), from μάγγανον (mánganon, “means of charming, philtre”). Ciorănescu…
mânie
DEX, Ciorănescu and Wiktionary take it as inherited from Latin mania (“madness”), a popular Latin word, which is from Ancient Greek μανία (manía, “madness, frenzy”). The Greek noun belongs with the…
mănunchi
It is inherited from Latin manuclus (“handful, sheaf”), a late form of manipulus (“handful, bundle”). Wiktionary gives the late form as Late Latin manuculus, refashioned so that it seemed to end in…
mănușă
It is formed from Romanian mână + -ușă, a diminutive of the word for “hand”. Ciorănescu derives it with the diminutive suffix -uș and thinks the singular was rebuilt from the plural ⟨mănuși⟩. mână…
măr
It continues the Latin forms with /e/ for classical /a/: the fruit is inherited from Latin mēlum (“apple”), a variant of mālum, and the tree inherited from Vulgar Latin *mēlus (“apple tree”), for…
mărăcine
Its origin is disputed. DEX and MDA2 take it as inherited from Latin marrūcīna (“a kind of thorny shrub”), which Candrea and Densusianu find in a Latin glossary miswritten ⟨marrugina⟩. Most authors…
mârced
It is inherited from Latin marcidus (“withered, rotten”), from marceō (“to wither”) and the suffix -idus. The vowel ⟨â⟩ is unexpected. Ciorănescu puts it down to expressive treatment and a false…
mare
1. The word for “big” is probably inherited from Latin mās (“male”), through its accusative ⟨marem⟩. Diez already proposed it, and it is the view of Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu, Tiktin, MDA2…
mărgea
It is inherited from Latin margella (“coral, pearl”), a word known only from a Greek–Latin glossary, where it renders Ancient Greek κοράλλιον (korállion, “red coral”). MDA2 and DLR call it Medieval…
margine
It is inherited from Latin margō (“edge, border”), continued from the accusative marginem. The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian mardzine and Megleno-Romanian mardzini. Its Romance…
mărita
It is inherited from Latin marītō (“to give in marriage, marry”), formed on marītus (“husband”), which survived in Old Romanian as the noun mărit “husband”. It survives in all four branches…
marmură
It is inherited from Latin marmor (“marble”). The Latin word is borrowed from Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros, “stone, marble”). Beekes describes the Greek word's first sense as “stone, rock” and…
marț
1. The word for the game term is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish مرس (mars, “double win at backgammon”). Ciorănescu traces the Turkish word to Italian marcio (“rotten”) or its dialect form marzo…
marți
It is inherited from Latin Mārtis (“of Mars”), the genitive of Mārs in the phrase diēs Mārtis (“day of Mars”), with the word for “day” left out. The Latin name of the day is formed from diēs (“day”)…
martor
It is inherited from Latin martyr (“witness; martyr”), or its Vulgar Latin form martur, which the Latin inscriptions show. Latin had the word from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), a later form of…
mărunt
It is inherited from Latin minūtus (“small”), the past participle of minuō (“to make smaller”). The regular result was mănunt, with the /n/ carried into the first syllable, and the first /n/ then…
măruntaie
It is inherited from Late Latin minūtālia (“small things, minced meat”), a derivative of minūtus (“small”). MDA2 writes the Latin as minutolia. Romance cognates include Italian minutaglia, Catalan…
mas
It is inherited from Latin mānsum (“a stay”), the supine of maneō (“to remain, stay”), according to Tiktin, MDA2, the DLR and DEX. Ciorănescu takes it instead as a Romanian derivative of mânea “to…