Romanian words from Latin
2429 Romanian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 39).
umed
It is inherited from Latin hūmidus (“wet, moist”). The older Latin spelling was ūmidus; Wiktionary explains the ⟨h⟩ as a hypercorrection after a false link with humus (“ground”). Nocentini derives…
umfla
It is inherited from Latin inflō (“to blow into, inflate”). The Latin verb is formed from in- and flō (“to blow”). The verb survives in all four branches: Aromanian umflu, Megleno-Romanian amflu and…
umil
It is borrowed from Latin humilis (“low, lowly, humble”), a learned loan first recorded in the 19th century. MDA2 and Scriban compare French humble, and Marcu and Maneca Italian umile. The Latin…
umple
It is inherited from Latin impleō (“to fill”), formed from Latin in- + pleō. Wiktionary starts from a Vulgar Latin *implĕre of the third conjugation. As in umfla, the change of ⟨in-⟩ to ⟨un-⟩ may be…
un
It is inherited from Latin ūnus (“one”). The Latin numeral continues Old Latin oinos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos. The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian un, Megleno-Romanian un…
unchi
It is inherited from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”), probably through a shortened *unclus. The Latin word is a diminutive of avus (“grandfather”). The same short form underlies French oncle and…
undă
It is inherited from Latin unda (“wave”). Its Aromanian counterpart is undã. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian yonda, Italian onda, Occitan onda, Catalan ona, Spanish onda and Portuguese onda…
unde
It is inherited from Latin unde (“from where, whence”). Tiktin explains that the Latin adverb meant “whence”, and that once a clarifying de was put before it, as in Italian donde and French dont, it…
undeva
It is a compound from Romanian unde + va, “where” and the indefinite element va. That element is the popular third person singular present of vrea “to want”, and it formed other indefinite words in…
uneori
It is a compound from Romanian une + ori (“times”). ⟨Une⟩ is the old feminine plural of the indefinite article un, now unele, and ⟨ori⟩ is the plural of oară (“time, occasion”). The noun is from…
unge
It is inherited from Latin ungō (“to smear, anoint”). The word survives in all four branches of Romanian: Aromanian ungu, Megleno-Romanian ung and Istro-Romanian ungu. Its Romance cognates include…
ungher
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *anglārius, the contracted form of Latin angulārius (“placed at a corner”), according to DEX, MDA2 and the DLR. Tiktin, whom Ciorănescu follows, takes it from the…
unghi
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin anglus, the popular form of angulus (“angle, corner”). Ciorănescu and Tiktin start directly from the classical form. The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European…
unghie
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ungla, the syncopated form of Latin ungula (“hoof, claw, talon”). The Latin word is formed on unguis (“fingernail, talon”), although it is not a diminutive in…
uni
It is inherited from Latin ūniō (“to unite”) according to Pușcariu, DEX, MDA2 and DLR. The Latin verb, rare and late, was formed on ūnus (“one”). DEX also names the inchoative *ūnēscō, and…
unic
It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin ūnicus (“one and only, sole”) and French unique, the two sources that DEX, MDA2 and the DLR name. Scriban gives only the Latin word, and the neologism…
uniune
It is borrowed from French union and directly borrowed from Latin ūniō (“oneness, union”), as DEX, MDA2 and the DLR give it. Wiktionary takes it from French and Late Latin. The DN adds Italian…
univers
It is borrowed from French univers and directly borrowed from Latin ūniversum (“the whole, the world”), the two sources DEX and the DLR name. MDA2 and the DLR add German Universum as a third model…
unt
It is inherited from Latin ūnctum (“ointment; rich food”), the noun use of the neuter of ūnctus (“anointed”), from ungō (“to anoint”). Scriban explains the form through an older stage with /mt/, the…
untură
It is inherited from Latin unctūra (“anointing”). The Latin noun is formed on ungō (“to anoint”) with the suffix -ūra. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian umturã and Megleno-Romanian untură…
unu
It is inherited from Latin ūnus (“one”). The Latin word, Old Latin oinos, comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (“one, single”). Wiktionary explains the final ⟨-u⟩ of the numeral: the counting…
urca
Its origin is not certain. The usual explanation makes it inherited from Vulgar Latin *orĭcō (“to rise”), a derivative of orior (“to rise, appear”). Ciorănescu lists Pușcariu, Tiktin, the REW…
urcior
1. The word for the jug is inherited from Latin urceolus (“small pitcher or jug”), the diminutive of urceus (“pitcher”). Its Romance cognates include Italian orciuolo, Old French orçuel and Occitan…
urdina
It is inherited from Latin ōrdinō (“to set in order, arrange”). Tiktin explains the sense from “put in rows” to “go in succession, one after another”. The Latin verb is formed from ōrdō (“order…
urdoare
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *horridor (“filth”), a noun reconstructed from horridus (“bristly, rough”), as Pușcariu, the REW, Tiktin, Scriban and DEX explain it. The REW sets beside…
ureche
It is inherited from Latin oricla (“ear”), the popular form of auricula (“external ear”). Pușcariu notes that the form is recorded as early as Cicero and that the diminutive replaced auris (“ear”)…
urgie
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *orgia (“wrath”), a Latin form of Ancient Greek ὀργή (orgḗ, “anger, wrath”), as Densusianu, Pușcariu and Candrea explain it, followed by Ciorănescu. The third…
urî
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *horriō, a fourth-conjugation form of Latin horreō (“to bristle, to shudder”) and horrēscō (“to bristle, to shudder”). Romanian conjugates it with the infix -esc…
urină
It is borrowed from French urine, also borrowed from Latin urina, a medical neologism. Scriban gives the Latin word alone, CADE the French. DLR derives the older masculine form ⟨urin⟩ from German…
urla
It is inherited from Latin ululō (“to howl”), probably through a form with /r/, *urulō, which the REW and Ciorănescu reconstruct; the change of /l/ to /r/ is a dissimilation. The REW explains the…
urm
It is inherited from Latin ornus (“manna ash”), with its form changed after ulm “elm”. Tiktin thinks it probably a book word. Cihac compared Italian orno, Spanish orno and French orne. De Vaan…
urmă
Its origin is disputed. According to MDA2 and the DLR, it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *orma, and Wiktionary calls it possibly from that form or from Late Latin osma, itself from Ancient Greek…
urs
It is inherited from Latin ursus (“bear”). The Latin word comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos (“bear”), via Proto-Italic. De Vaan notes that the Latin cluster ⟨rs⟩ continues the PIE one, but…
urzi
It is inherited from Latin ōrdiō (“to lay the warp; to begin”), the active form that spoken Latin used beside the deponent ōrdior. It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian urdzãscu. Ciorănescu…
urzică
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *urdīca, a variant of Latin urtīca (“nettle”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian urdzãcã, Megleno-Romanian urzică and Istro-Romanian urzikę. Its Romance…
ușă
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ustia, the plural of *ustium, a popular variant of Latin ostium (“door, entrance”); the neuter plural was taken as a feminine singular. Ciorănescu starts from the…
usca
It is most likely inherited from Latin exsūcō (“to squeeze the juice out”), formed from ex- and sūcus (“juice, moisture”). Tiktin notes that the verb already meant “to dry” in Vulgar Latin, and that…
ușor
1. The word for the doorpost is inherited from Latin ostiolum (“little door”), a diminutive of ostium (“door”). DEX, DLR and MDA2 give the Latin form as osteolum, and Scriban starts from a popular…
ustura
It is inherited from Latin ustulō (“to scorch, singe”). The Latin verb is a diminutive formation on ūrō (“to burn”), “to burn a little”. It also survives as Aromanian ustur and Istro-Romanian…
vacă
It is inherited from Latin vacca (“cow”). The Latin word is usually compared with Sanskrit वशा (vaśā, “cow”), but de Vaan finds the vowel hard to explain and suggests an onomatopoeic origin, “the…
vad
It is inherited from Latin vadum (“shallow place, ford”). Its Romance cognates include Italian vado, Spanish vado, Portuguese vao and French gué, and Albanian va. According to the REW, the French…
văduv
It is inherited from Latin viduus (“deprived of a spouse”), and its feminine văduvă continues vidua (“widow”). It survives in Aromanian veduu. Its Romance cognates include Italian vedovo, French…
văduvă
It is inherited from Latin vidua (“widow”), the feminine of viduus (“bereft of a spouse”), which survives as văduv. Wiktionary starts from the Vulgar Latin form *viduva. Ciorănescu, following…
vag
It is borrowed from French vague, borrowed from Latin vagus (“roaming, wandering”): these are the two sources DEX, MDA2, the DLR and Wiktionary give. Ciorănescu names only the French word, Scriban…
val
1. The word for the wave is borrowed from Old Church Slavonic валъ (valŭ, “wave”). MDA2 compares Bulgarian вал (val) and Serbo-Croatian val. The Slavonic word belongs with валити (valiti, “to…
vâlcea
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *vallicella, a diminutive equivalent to Late Latin vallicula (“small valley”), according to DEX, MDA2, the DLR and Wiktionary. Ciorănescu, following Pușcariu and…
vale
It is inherited from Latin vallis (“valley”). It survives in all four branches: Aromanian vale, Megleno-Romanian vali and Istro-Romanian vǫle. Its Romance cognates include Italian valle, Spanish…
vâltoare
It is usually derived as inherited from Vulgar Latin *voltoria, a noun formed on *voltus, the popular participle that replaced Latin volūtus, past participle of volvō (“to roll, to whirl”). Pușcariu…
vâna
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *vēnō, the active form of Latin vēnor (“to hunt”). De Vaan takes the Latin verb as a denominative from a noun or adjective meaning “hunt, searching”, from a root…
vână
It is inherited from Latin vēna (“blood vessel”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian vinã, Megleno-Romanian vină and Istro-Romanian virę. Its Romance cognates include Dalmatian vaina…
vânăt
It is inherited from Latin venetus (“sea-blue, bluish”). The Latin adjective first named the colour of the Blue faction of the circus, and is derived from Venetī (“the Veneti”). Under this Latin…
vânătaie
It is formed from Romanian vânăt + -aie, from the adjective “livid, bluish” and the suffix of collectives and results. Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of vânăt and compares apăraie and…
vânătoare
Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Latin vēnātōria (“(the art) of hunting”), the feminine of vēnātōrius (“of hunters, hunting”) used as a noun for “the art of hunting”. The Latin adjective…
vânător
It is inherited from Latin vēnātor (“hunter”), from vēnor (“to hunt”) with the agent suffix -tor. Ciorănescu treats it as a derivative of vâna that may also continue the Latin word directly, and the…
vânt
It is inherited from Latin ventus (“wind”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts, from the root *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian vimtu…
vântos
According to the DLR, MDA2 and Scriban it is inherited from Latin ventōsus (“windy”), and Cihac compared the Romance words of the same origin. DEX, Ciorănescu and the Romanian Wiktionary take it…
vântura
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ventulō (“to winnow”), a popular form of Latin ventilō (“to fan, to winnow”). Tiktin, Pascu, Candrea and Graur take it from the Vulgar Latin form; Ciorănescu also…
vapor
It is borrowed from Italian vapore, also borrowed from French vapeur, and for the sense “vapour, steam” also borrowed from Latin vapor (“steam, exhalation”). Tiktin names New Latin and Italian. For…
văr
It is inherited from Latin (cōnsōbrīnus) vērus (“true (cousin)”): the phrase meaning “first cousin” was shortened to its adjective. The full phrase survives as Aromanian cusurin ver, and…
vară
1. The word for summer is inherited from Latin vēra, the plural of vēr (“spring”) taken as a feminine singular. Tiktin explains that the plural replaced the singular, which was awkward as a word of…