Latin words in English

(Latin words directly incorporated into English which are essentially without changes from their original spelling)

"Every day we use words that have remained essentially unchanged for 2000 years"

In an article produced by Bruce D. Price of Improve-Education.org, "Latin Lives On—333 common words that are letter-for-letter identical in Latin and English" was first published in the Princeton Alumni Weekly, September, 1985; and is now provided for your examination below.


abacus (s); abaci (pl)
1. A manual computing device consisting of a frame holding parallel rods strung with movable counters.
2. In architecture, a slab on the top of the capital of a column.

abdomen
1. The part of the human body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis.

The abdomen, or belly, is anatomically separated from the chest by the diaphragm, the powerful muscle that spans the body cavity, just below the lungs.

2. That portion of the body which lies between the lower thorax (chest) and the pelvis; or "the region of the trunk below the diaphragm, containing the largest cavity in the body".

Also called belly (popular), venter, and stomach (incorrect). Derived from abdo, abdere, "to hide", and so probably originally referred to the "hidden part of the body".

Abdomen [Lat. from abdo, to hide.] A cavity commonly called the lower venter or belly: It contains the stomach, guts, liver, spleen, bladder, and is within lined with a membrane called peritoneum.

—Samuel Johnson; A Dictionary of the English Language;
3rd ed., 1765.
aborigines
1. Native; any of the first or earliest known inhabitants of a region.
2. Etymology: ab- + origine, "original".

The Aborigines, an Italian tribe from Latium whom the Latins were said to be descended; hence original inhabitants of a country.

actor
1. Originally, an agent or doer.
2. A person who acts and gets things done.
3. A theatrical performer.
acumen (AK yuh muhn, uh KYOO muhn)
1. Keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a situation, shrewdness; keenness of discrimination.
2. The ability to make quick accurate intelligent judgments about people or situations.
3. Speed, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.

The pronunciation (uh KYOO muhn), with the stress on the second syllable, is an older, traditional pronunciation reflecting the word's Latin origin. In recent years it has been replaced as the most common pronunciation of the word by an Anglicized variant with stress on the first syllable, (AK yuh muhn).

Word History

A keen mind may be compared to a sharp knife, which penetrates easily and quickly. For clean-cut action, both the knife and the mind must be "sharp". So it is natural that, when a word was needed to denote the faculty of keen, penetrating thought, the Latin word for "sharpness" should be borrowed.

Acuere, in Latin, means "to sharpen", and acumen means "sharpness". English borrowed acumen and used it figuratively for sharpness of the mind.

Acute, from the past participle of the same Latin verb acuere, means "sharpened, keen", and it is used broadly in a figurative sense.

Picturesque Word Origins; G. & C. Merriam Company;
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A; 1933; page 8.


Latin words directly incorporated into English which are essentially without changes in the original

abacus
abdomen
aborigines
actor
acumen
addendum
administrator
agenda
aggressor
agitator
album
alias
alibi
altar
alumnus
amen
animal
animus
annotator
ante
antenna
anterior
apex
apostrophe
apparatus
appendix
aquarium
ardor
area
arena
aroma
asparagus
assessor
asylum
audio
auditorium
aura
axis
basis
benefactor
biceps
bonus
cactus
cadaver
calculator
camera
campus
candor
caper
captor
caret
caveat
censor
census
chaos
character
cinnamon
circus
citrus
clamor
climax
coitus
collector
colon
color
colossus
coma
comma
commentator
compendium
competitor
compressor
conductor
confine
consensus
consortium
consul
continuum
contractor
cornucopia
corpus
cranium
crater
creator
creditor
credo
crisis
crux
curator
datum
December
decorum
deficit
delirium
demonstrator
dictator
dictum
dilemma
diploma
discus
distributor
doctor
dogma
drama
duo
duplex
duplicator
echo
editor
educator
ego
elevator
emphasis
emporium
enema
enigma
error
exit
exterior
exterminator
extra
facile
factor
favor
fervor
fetus
fiat
focus
formula
forum
fungus
furor
gemini
genesis
genius
geranium
gladiator
gusto
gymnasium
habitat
helix
hiatus
honor
horizon
horror
humor
hyena
hyphen
icon
idea
ignoramus
illustrator
imitator
impostor
impromptu
incubator
index
indicator
inertia
inferior
inquisitor
insomnia
inspector
instigator
instructor
interest
interim
interior
interrogator
investigator
iris
item
janitor
junior
labor
languor
legislator
lens
liberator
liquor
major
mania
martyr
matrix
mausoleum
maximum
mediator
medium
mentor
minimum
minister
minor
minus
miser
moderator
momentum
monitor
moratorium
motor
murmur
museum
narrator
nausea
navigator
nectar
neuter
nucleus
oasis
objector
ode
odor
omen
onus
opera
operator
opus
orator
osmosis
pallor
panacea
par
paralysis
pastor
pathos
patina
pauper
pelvis
peninsula
perpetrator
persecutor
persona
petroleum
phoenix
phosphorus
plasma
platinum
plus
podium
pollen
possessor
posterior
prior
pro
professor
progenitor
propaganda
prosecutor
prospectus
protector
quantum
quota
rabies
radius
rancor
ratio
receptor
recipe
rector
referendum
regalia
regimen
renovator
rhododendron
rigor
rostrum
rumor
saliva
sanatorium
scintilla
sculptor
sector
senator
senior
series
serum
simile
sinister
sinus
siren
solarium
species
specimen
spectator
spectrum
Sphinx
splendor
sponsor
squalor
stadium
status
stigma
stimulus
stratum
stupor
successor
sulphur
superior
tandem
tenor
terminus
terror
thesis
thorax
torpor
transgressor
translator
tremor
tribunal
trio
trivia
tuba
tumor
tutor
ulterior
vacuum
valor
vapor
verbatim
vector
vertigo
vesper
veto
vice versa
victor
video
vigil
vigor
villa
vim
virus
visa
viscera
vortex


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