Romanian words from Latin
2429 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 35).
soră
It is inherited from Latin soror (“sister”). The regular result was ⟨sor⟩, from the Latin nominative with the loss of final /r/, later fitted to the feminine nouns in ⟨-ă⟩. The plural ⟨surori⟩…
sorb
1. The word for the wild service tree is inherited from Latin sorbus (“service tree”), as Cihac, Tiktin, the REW, DEX and MDA2 give it. Ciorănescu notes that its popular character is not certain…
sorbi
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *sorbiō (“to sip”), the fourth-conjugation form that replaced classical sorbeō (“to drink, suck up”). Ciorănescu, MDA2 and DLR give the classical verb as the…
sorocină
Wiktionary takes it probably from an older ⟨*sorăcină⟩, which may be inherited from Latin sōricīna, the feminine of sōricīnus (“of a shrew-mouse”), from sōrex (“shrew-mouse”). The proposal is…
soț
It is inherited from Latin socius (“companion, partner”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-yo- (“companion”), from *sekʷ- (“to follow”), the root of sequor (“to follow”). The…
spaimă
Its origin is uncertain. The usual explanation is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expavīmen, a derivative of expaveō (“to be terrified”), proposed by Cipariu, Pușcariu and Tiktin. Ciorănescu finds that…
spăla
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *experlavō (“to wash out”), formed with ex- on Late Latin perlavō (“to wash thoroughly”), itself from per- and Latin lavō (“to wash”). Candrea and Densusianu add…
spânzura
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expendiolō (“to hang”), a derivative of Latin pendeō (“to hang, be suspended”) that the DEX gives as probable and MDA2, the DLR and NODEX accept. Ciorănescu…
sparge
It is inherited from Latin spargō (“to scatter, to strew”). Ciorănescu cites Cihac, Șăineanu, Pușcariu and the REW for it. De Vaan derives the Latin verb from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”)…
spaț
It is inherited from Latin spatium (“space, interval, course”). Tiktin calls the Latin source probable. The REW lists the Transylvanian word, “the space between the weft and the batten of a loom”…
spată
It is inherited from Latin spatha (“broad blade; weaver's batten; broadsword”), which is from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “any broad blade”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian spatã…
spate
It is inherited from Latin spatha (“broad blade, sword”), through its plural spathae. It began as the plural of spată “shoulder blade”, used as a singular for the back: Șăineanu called it the plural…
spațiu
It is borrowed from Latin spatium (“space, room; interval”) for Tiktin, DER and Wiktionary, a learned loan of the modern period. DEX adds French espace, MDN gives Latin after the French model, DN…
specialitate
It is borrowed from French spécialité, borrowed from Latin speciālitās: these are the sources the DEX, the neologism dictionaries and Wiktionary give. MDA2 and the DLR name a third model, borrowed…
specie
It is a learned borrowed from Latin speciēs (“look, appearance; kind, species”). DER dates the borrowing to the 19th century; MDA2 adds Italian specie as a second source, the NODEX also German and…
spera
It is borrowed from Latin spērō (“to hope”), with Italian sperare as a second model, a neologism of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Romanian dictionaries name both sources: DEX, MDA2, the DLR and…
speria
In the view of DEX, MDA2 and the DLR it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expavoreō (“to frighten”), a verb formed on Latin pavor (“fear”). Tiktin and an earlier article of the REW proposed expaveō…
spic
It is inherited from Latin spīcum (“ear of grain”), a neuter variant of spīca. DER cites Pușcariu and the REW for the etymon. The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian schic and…
spin
1. The word for the thorn is inherited from Latin spīnus (“blackthorn”). The Latin noun comes from spīna (“thorn”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp point”). It survives in Aromanian schin…
spinare
It is inherited from Late Latin spīnālis (“of the spine”), used as a noun. Gabinschi explains it as the adjective with its noun left out, and Șăineanu supplies the noun pars (“part”). The Latin…
spinteca
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expanticō (“to rip open the belly”), formed on pantex (“belly, paunch”), plural pantices (“bowels”). The same Latin noun gave pântece. Candrea and Densusianu…
spirit
It is borrowed from Latin spīritus (“breath, spirit”), a learned loan of the 19th century. MDA2 and the DLR add French esprit and German Spiritus as models, and Tiktin names the Latin word together…
spiritual
It is borrowed from French spirituel, as DEX gives it. MDA2 and DLR name three models, borrowed from Late Latin spīrituālis, Italian spirituale and the French word, and the neologism dictionaries…
splendid
It is borrowed from French splendide and directly borrowed from Latin splendidus (“bright, shining”), the double source the Romanian dictionaries give. Wiktionary names the French word alone, a…
splină
Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Latin splēnem (“spleen”), the accusative of a word Latin took from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn). Pușcariu and the REW give the same etymology, with Romance…
sprânceană
According to DEX, MDA2 and the Academy dictionary it is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *supercina, a blend of Latin supercilia (“eyebrows”) and gena (“cheek, eyelid”), the source of geană…
spre
It is inherited from Latin super (“over, above, on”). Pușcariu lists it as no. 1626 of the Latin element. The Latin preposition goes back to Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”), the source…
spulbera
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expulverō (“to raise dust”), a reconstructed Latin verb from pulvis (“dust”). Romanian pulbere “dust” continues the same Latin noun. The verb survives south of the…
spumă
It is inherited from Latin spūma (“foam”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)poHy-mos, or in de Vaan's notation *spoHi-m- (“foam”), with cognates such as Old English fām. It…
spune
It is inherited from Latin expōnō (“to set out, explain”), from ex- and pōnō (“to place, put”). The neologism expune is a later loan of the same Latin verb. The verb survives in Aromanian aspun…
șpur
It is inherited from Latin spurius (“illegitimate child”), as MDA2, Wiktionary and Ștef, after N. Drăganu, explain it. Ștef compares Italian spurio. The REW lists the Romanian variant spuriu under…
spurc
The Academy dictionaries make it inherited from Latin spurcus (“dirty, filthy, foul”), the adjective used as a noun. Scriban gives the same source, and the REW derives the Romanian sense “devil”…
spurca
It is inherited from Latin spurcō (“to make filthy, defile”), from spurcus (“dirty, filthy”). DER cites Pușcariu and the REW for it. It survives south of the Danube as Megleno-Romanian spurc (“to…
sta
It is inherited from Latin stō (“to stand”). The present ⟨stau⟩ continues Vulgar Latin *staō. Tiktin derives the perfect ⟨stătui⟩ and the participle ⟨stătut⟩ perhaps from Latin statuō (“to set up”)…
stabil
It is a learned borrowed from Latin stabilis (“standing firm, steady”). MDA2, the DLR, NODEX and the neologism dictionaries add borrowed from Italian stabile as a second source. Gabinschi calls it…
stabili
It is borrowed from Latin stabiliō (“to make firm, establish”), a 19th-century learned loan, which DEX and the neologism dictionaries also give as borrowed from Italian stabilire. MDA2 and the…
stadiu
It is borrowed from Latin stadium, taken up again in the 19th century under the influence of French stade and German Stadium. The dictionaries give different orders: the DLR, MDA2 and NODEX put…
stâng
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *stancus (“tired”). It is compared with Italian stanco (“tired”) and with the old Italian phrase mano stanca (“left hand”), and with Old French estanc (“weak…
stare
It is the long infinitive of sta (“to stand, stay”), used as a noun: formed from Romanian sta + -re. The verb is from Latin stō (“to stand”). stat is a doublet from the participle status. Aromanian…
stat
1. The word for the state has several sources in the dictionaries: DEX 2009 says it is borrowed from Italian stato and Latin stātus, with some senses after French état; Wiktionary gives the Italian…
stație
It is borrowed from Latin statiō (“a standing, post, station”), with French station and German Station as further models, as the DLR, MDA2 and NODEX give it. DEX 2009 names French and Latin. Tiktin…
statut
It is borrowed from French statut, and the dictionaries name further models beside the French word. According to DEX it is also borrowed from Latin statūtum. DN adds Italian statuto as well, and…
stavăr
Wiktionary and DLRLV make it inherited from Latin stabilis (“firm, steady”). Scriban gives the same source and compares the /v/ between vowels with avere. The Latin word was borrowed again later as…
stea
It is inherited from Latin stēlla (“star”), through the old form steală and the colloquial steauă, later shortened. Tiktin points out that the Romance forms all require the long ⟨ē⟩. Ciorănescu…
ștează
1. The word for the fulling mill is of unknown origin, according to DEX, Tiktin, the DLR and Ciorănescu. Diculescu, in his study of the old Greek elements of Romanian, proposed Ancient Greek σχεδία…
stelar
1. The word for the caroler with the star is formed from Romanian stea + -ar, from stea (“star”) with the agent suffix. The DLR, MDA2 and DEX 2009 take the plural stele as its stem, while DEX 1998…
șterc
1. The word for filth is inherited from Latin stercus (“dung, excrement”). Ciorănescu cites Cihac, Pușcariu, Tiktin and the REW for this etymology. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian sterc…
șterge
It is inherited from Latin extergō (“to wipe off, wipe clean”). The Latin verb is formed ex- + tergō (“to wipe”); Tiktin calls it a late by-form of extergeō. Ciorănescu thinks it was probably…
ști
It is inherited from Latin sciō (“to know”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian știu, Megleno-Romanian știu and Istro-Romanian știwu. Among the other Romance languages only Sardinian kept…
stil
It is borrowed from French style, at the same time borrowed from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument for writing”), as MDA2 and Scriban give it. The Wiktionary takes it from French, from Latin. Tiktin…
stinge
It is inherited from Latin extinguō (“to put out, extinguish”). The Latin verb is formed from ex- and stinguō. The REW lists the Romanian verb under the simple verb, together with Italian stingere…
știur
It is borrowed from Latin sciurus (“squirrel”), a learned and rare Latinism of Șincai. Wiktionary describes it as inherited, but its only dated record is from Șincai, about 1806. The Latin word…
stoarce
It is inherited from Latin extorqueō (“to twist out, wrench away”), which passed into the third conjugation like toarce. Wiktionary posits a Vulgar Latin form of the third conjugation. The Latin…
străin
Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Latin extrāneus (“external, foreign”), although the regular sound changes would have given ⟨*strâi⟩. DEX 2009 calls it of unknown origin. Ciorănescu holds…
strâmb
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *strambus (“crooked”), the popular form of Latin strabus (“squinting”). The Latin word was borrowed from Ancient Greek στραβός (strabós, “squinting”). Ciorănescu…
strâmt
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *strinctus (“narrow, tight”), a form of Latin strictus with the ⟨n⟩ of the present stem stringō (“to tighten, bind”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian…
strămurare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *stimulāria, formed on stimulus (“goad”). DER, after Tiktin and the REW, derives it from the verb stimulō (“to goad”). Cihac reconstructed a Latin type in ⟨-aris⟩…
strămuta
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *extrāmūtō (“to move elsewhere”), a Latin compound of extrā (“outside”) and mūtō (“to change, move”) that stands in place of Classical Latin trānsmūtō…
strânge
It is inherited from Latin stringō (“to draw tight, bind”). It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian stringu and Megleno-Romanian string. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian strengar, Italian…
strănuta
It is inherited from Latin sternūtō (“to sneeze”), the frequentative of sternuō (“to sneeze”). Ciorănescu cites Meyer, Pascu and the REW for it. Its variants include stărnuta and strenuta. The verb…