Encyclopedia > List of Latin words with English derivatives
This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages).
Note that ancient orthography did not distinguish between i and j or between u and v. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j. In this article both distinctions are shown as they are helpful when tracing the origin of English words. See also Latin spelling and pronunciation. The Roman alphabet or Latin alphabet was adapted from an Etruscan alphabet, to represent the phonemes of the Latin language. ...
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
The citation form for nouns (the one normally shown in Latin dictionaries) is the nominative singular, but this typically does not exhibit the root form from which English derivatives from Latin nouns are generally derived.
Latin Nouns and Adjectives
Citation Form
Declining Stem
Meaning
English Derivative
acerbus
acerb-
sweet
acerbic
aedificium
aedifici-
building
edifice
alacer
alacr-
quick
alacrity
album
alb-
white
album
alius
ali-
other
alien
anima
anim-
soul,life
animate
annus
ann-
year
annual
aqua
aqu-
water
aquamarine aquatic
audax
audac-
brave, bold
audacious
auris
aur-
ear
aural
avis
av-
bird
avian aviary
bellum
bell-
war
bellicose belligerence
bonus – melior – optimus
bon- – melior- – optim-
good – better – best
bonus ameliorate optimum
bōs
bov-
cow
bovine
canis
can-
dog
canine
cīvis
civit-
citizen
civil civilian
coniunx
coniug-
spouse
conjugal
cornu
corn-
horn
cornucopia
deus
de-
god
deity
diēs
diē-
day
diet
discipulus
discipul-
student
disciple
dominus
domin-
lord
dominion dominate
domus
dom-
house
domain domestic domicile
fēmina
fēmin-
woman
feminine
filius
fili-
son
filial
forma
form-
form, shape, beauty
form
fors
fort-
luck
fortuitous
fortitudō
fortitudin-
strength
fortitude
frater
fratr-
brother
fraternity
genus
gener-
birth offspring
generation
homō
homin-
man (human being)
hominid
insula
insul-
island
insulate peninsula
jūdex
jūdic-
judge
judge judicial abjudicate
jūs
jūr-
right law
justice
lachryma
lachrym-
tear
lachrymose
lex
lēg-
law
legal
lūna
lūn-
moon
lunar
lupus
lup-
wolf
lupine
magister
magistr-
teacher
magistrate
magnus – mājor – maximus
magn- – mājor- – maxim-
big – bigger – biggest
magnitude major maximum
manus
manu-
hand band of men
manual
mare
mar-
sea
marine maritime
māter
mātr-
mother
matron maternal
mora
mor-
delay
moratorium
nihil
nihil-
nothing
nil nihilism annihilate
nox
noct-
night
nocturnal
oculus
ocul-
eye
inoculate
onus
oner-
load
exonerate onus
pater
patr-
father
patron paternal patriarch
pavimentum
paviment-
ground
pavement
pes
ped-
foot
pedestrian
pulcher
pulchr-
beautiful
pulchritude
rex
rēg-
king
regal
rūs
rūr-
farm
rural rustic
sinister
sinistr-
left
sinister
terra
terr-
land
terrestrial terrain
unda
und-
wave
undulate
urbs
urb-
city
urban
vehiculum
vehicul-
wagon
vehicle
veritas
veritat-
truth
veracity verify
villa
vill-
country house
village villa
vir
vir-
man (male person)
virile evirate
In some Latin verbs, a preposition caused a vowel change in the root of the verb. For example, "capiō" becomes "incipio".
A large portion of the technical and scientific lexicon of English and other Western European languages consists of classical compounds. ... The phrase Dog Latin refers to the creation of a phrase or jargon in imitation of Latin, often by directly translating English words (or those of other European languages) into Latin without conjugation or declension. ... The following is an alphabetical list of Greek and Latin roots commonly used in English. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... A Latinism is a word borrowed from Latin into another language, such as English. ... English has been called a Germanic language with a Romance vocabulary. ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ... This list contains Germanic elements of the English language which have a close corresponding Latinate form. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of French phrases used by English speakers. ... List of Greek Phrases/Proverbs (h)a AgeÅmetrÄ“tos mÄ“deis eisitÅ. Let no-one without knowledge of geometry enter. Motto over the entrance to Platos Academy (quoted in Elias commentary on Aristotles Categories). ... This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. ... Here are some examples of French words and phrases used by English speakers. ... The expression Living Latin refers to the living use of Latin, a classical language that has often being classified as dead. There are two main proponents of Living Latin. ... New Latin (or Neo-Latin) is a post-medieval version of Latin, now used primarily in International Scientific Vocabulary cladistics and systematics. ... Interlingua is an international auxiliary language (IAL) published in 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). ...
Latin is a member of the family of Italic languages, and its alphabet, the Latin alphabet, is based on the Old Italic alphabet, which is in turn derived from the Greek alphabet.
Latin was first brought to the Italian peninsula in the 9th or 8th century BC by migrants from the north, who settled in the Latium region, specifically around the River Tiber, where the Roman civilization first developed.
Latin was influenced by the Celtic dialects and the non-Indo-European Etruscan language of northern Italy, as well as by the Greek of southern Italy.
Moreover, in the Western world, Latin was a lingua franca, the learned language for scientific and political affairs, for more than a thousand years, being eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English in the late 19th.
Latin is a synthetic or inflectional language: affixes are attached to fixed stems to express gender, number, and case in adjectives, nouns, and pronouns, which is called declension; and person, number, tense, voice, mood, and aspect in verbs, which is called conjugation.
However, as many as half the words in English were derived from Latin, including many words of Greek origin first adopted by the Romans, not to mention the thousands of French, Spanish, and Italian words of Latin origin that have also enriched English.
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