Lexical changes from Classical Latin to Proto-Romance

As Classical Latin developed into Proto-Romance, its lexicon underwent numerous changes.

Regularization

Irregular nouns and verbs tended to be either regularized or replaced with preexisting regular equivalents. Cf. the loss of edere 'to eat' in favour of manducare or its own regularized compound comedere. Similar motives underlie the general replacement of ferre 'carry' with portare or loqui 'speak' with parabolare and fabulari. ^[1]

Semantic drift

Various words experienced a significant change in meaning, notable examples being causa ('subject matter' → 'thing'), civitas ('citizenry' → 'city'), focus ('hearth' → 'fire'), mittere ('send' → 'put'), necare ('murder' → 'drown'), pacare ('placate' → 'pay'), and totus ('whole' → 'all, every'). ^[2]

Certain words may have shed their originally lower-status or humble associations to become default unmarked terms, thus replacing the literary Classical equivalents. Cf. the general loss of equus 'horse' in favour of caballus (originally 'workhorse') or that of domus 'house' in favour of casa (originally 'hut'). ^[3]

Loss of short forms

Words that were felt to be too short or phonetically insubstantial were liable to be replaced, often with their own derivatives, hence auris 'ear' and agnus 'lamb' were rejected in favour of their diminutives auricula and agnellus. ^[4]

Most Classical particles (such as an, at, autem, donec, enim, etc.) simply died out and survive nowhere in Romance. ^[5]

Coinages

There was a trend towards forming compound prepositions of the type ab ante, which at first simply combined the sense of their constituents (hence the original sense of ab ante was 'from before'). In time many would develop a generic sense, often simply that of one of their constituents (hence ab ante came to mean 'before', in competition with ante). Other examples attested in Late Antiquity are de inter, de retro, de foris, de intus, de ab, and de ex. ^[6]

A number of verb-forming (or extending) suffixes were popularized, such as -icare (based on the adjective ending -icus), -ulare (based on the diminutive -ul-), and -izare (borrowed from Greek). ^[7]

Borrowing

Numerous foreign terms were borrowed into the Latin vernacular, a majority of which came from Greek, particularly in the domains of medicine, cooking, and Christian worship. A smaller fraction came from Gaulish or Germanic. ^[8]

Selected lexical comparisons

Meaning		Classical word	Inherited descendants [lower-greek 1]		Competitor(s) in Proto-Romance	Inherited descendants	Origin
all		omnis	It. ogni		totus	Fr. tout, Oc. tot, Cat. tot, Sp. todo, Pt. todo, Srd. totu, It. tutto, Ro. tot	Meant 'entire' in CL.
before		ante	OIt. anti, Sp. ante		avante	Fr. avant, Occ. avan, Cat. abans, Pt. avante, Sp. avante, [lower-greek 2] It. avanti	Ab 'away from' + ante.
					inante	OPt. enante, OSp. enante, Vgl. aninč, OIt.inanti, Nea. 'nnante, Ro. înainte, ARo. nãnte	In +ante.
					antes	Sp. antes, Pt. antes	Ante + an adverbial analogical -s.
begin		incipere	Rms. entscheiver, Ro. începe(re)		comintiare	Fr. commencer, Occ. començar, Cat. començar, Sp. comenzar, Pt. começar, It. cominciare	Prefixed and syncopated version of LL initiare 'start', a verb based on CL initium 'beginning'.
bird		avis	Cat. au, Sp. ave, Pt. ave, Srd. ae		aucellus	Fr. oiseau, Occ. aucèl, Cat. ocell, It. uccello	Diminutive of avis.
					passarus	Sp. pájaro, Pt. pássaro, Ro. pasăre, It. passero	Alteration of CL passer 'sparrow'.
cat		felis	—		cattus	Fr. chat, Occ. cat, Cat. gat, Sp. gato, Pt. gato, It. gatto	Late borrowing of obscure origin.
ear		auris	—		auricla~oricla	Fr. oreille, Occ. aurelha, Cat. orella, Sp. oreja, Pt. orelha, It. orecchio, Ro. ureche	Diminutive of auris.
eat		edere	—		comedere	Sp. comer, Pt. comer	Prefixed and regularized version of edere.
					manducare	Fr. manger, Occ. manjar, Cat. menjar, Ara. minchar, OIt. manicare, It. mangiare, Ro. mâncare	Meant 'chew' in CL.
evening		vesper	Fr. vêpre, Occ. vèspre, Cat. vespre, Pie. vespr, Lmb. vèsper, Vgl. viaspro		sera	Fr. soir, Rms. saira, Vgl. saira, It. sera, Ro. seară	Likely a shortening of an expression such as sera dies 'late (part of the) day'.
fire		ignis	—		focus	Fr. feu, Occ. fuòc, Cat. foc, Sp. fuego, Pt. fogo, It. fuoco, Ro. foc	Meant 'hearth' in CL.
fight		pugna	—		lucta	Fr. lutte, Occ. lucha, Cat. lluita, Sp. lucha, Pt. luta, It. lotta, Ro. luptă	Noun based on CL luctari 'wrestle, struggle'.
					battalia	Fr. bataille, Occ. batalha, Cat. batalla, Pt. batalha, It. battaglia, Ro. bătaie	Alteration of earlier battualia, from CL battuere 'strike', an early borrowing from Gaulish.
from		a~ab	Occ. amb, Cat. amb [lower-greek 3]		de	Fr. de, Oc. de, Cat. de, Sp. de, Pt. de, It. di, Ro. de	Meant 'down from' in CL.
help		iuvare	Frl. zovâ, It. giovare		adiutare	Fr. aider, Occ. ajudar, Cat. ajudar, Sp. ayudar, Pt. ajudar, It. aiutare, Ro. ajutare	Frequentative of CL adiuvare, a prefixed version of iuvare.
home		domus	It. duomo, [lower-greek 4] Srd. domu		casa	OFr. chiese, [lower-greek 5] Occ. casa, Cat. casa, Sp. casa, Pt. casa, It. casa, Ro. casă	Meant 'hut' in CL.
horse (m.)		equus	—		caballus	Fr. cheval, Oc. caval, Cat. cavall, Sp. caballo, Pt. cavalo, It. cavallo. Ro. cal.	Originally 'workhorse, nag'.
inside		intus	OFr. enz, Lig. inte		deintus	Fr. dans, Occ. dins, Cat. dins, It. dentro, Nea. dinto, Pt. dentro	De + intus, originally 'from within'. Attested in Late Latin.
kitchen		culina	—		cocina	Fr. cuisine, Occ. cosina, Cat. cuina, Sp. cocina, Pt. cozinha, It. cucina	Noun based on CL coquere 'cook'.
know		scire	Ro. știre, Srd. ischire		sapere	Fr. savoir, Occ. saber, Cat. saber, Sp. saber, Pt. saber, It. sapere	Meant 'taste' in CL, but with the secondary senses of 'understand' and 'be intelligent'.
lamb		agnus	Pt. anho		agnellus	Fr. agneau, Occ. anhèl, Cat. anyell, Rms. agnè, It. agnello, Sic. agneddu, Ro. miel	Originally simply the diminutive of agnus.
leg		crus	—		camba~gamba	Fr. jambe, Occ. camba, Cat. cama, OSp. cama, It. gamba, Ro. gambă	Late borrowing of Greek καμπή.
man		vir	—		homo	Fr. homme, Occ. òme, Cat. home, Sp. hombre, Pt. homem, It. uomo, Ro. om	Meant 'human being' in CL.
money		pecunia	ARo. picunj~piculj		denarii	Fr. deniers, Occ. dinèrs, Cat. diners, Sp. dineros, Pt. dinheiros, It. denari, Ro. dinari	Referred to a specific type of coin in CL, though was used as a metonym for 'money' in Cicero's letters.
mouth		os	—		bucca	Fr. bouche, Occ. boca, Cat. boca, Sp. boca, Pt. boca, It. bocca, Ro. bucă [lower-greek 6]	Meant 'cheek' in CL. Attested in the sense of 'mouth' already in the writings of Petronius. [9]
narrow		angustus	Sp. angosto, It. angusto, Ro. îngust		strictus	Fr. étroit, Occ. estreit, Cat. estret, Sp. estrecho, Pt. estreito, It. stretto, Ro. strâmt	Meant 'tightened' in CL.
now		nunc	—		ora	Sp. ora, Pt. hora, It. ora	CL hora 'hour, time'.
					adora	Fr. or, Occ. aüra, Cat. ara	Composed of CL ad + hora(m). Attested in the writings of Anthimus. [10]
					acora	Sp. ahora, Pt. agora	Composed of CL hac 'this' + hora.
old		vetus	OFr. viet, Sp. viedo, OPt. vedro, It. vieto		veclus	Fr. vieux, Occ. vièlh, Cat. vell, Sp. viejo, Pt. velho, It. vecchio, Ro. vechi	Alteration of CL vetulus, a diminutive of vetus.
right [lower-greek 7]		dexter	OFr. destre, OOcc. dèstre, Cat. destre, Sp. diestro, Pt. destro, [lower-greek 8] It. destro		directus~drectus	Fr. droit, Occ. dreit, Cat. dret, Sp. derecho, Pt. direito, It. diritto, Ro. drept	Meant 'straight' or 'level' in CL.
rope		funis	It. fune, Ro. funie		corda	Occ. còrda, Cat. corda, Sp. cuerda, Pt. corda, It. corda, Ro. coardă	Borrowing of Greek χορδή.
Saturday		dies saturni	—		dies sabbati	Occ. dissabte, Cat. dissabte	Lit. 'day of the Sabbath'.
					sambati dies	Fr. samedi, Rms. sonda	The same but reversed and with a nasal infix.
					sabbatu~sambatu	Sp. sábado, Pt. sábado, It. sabato, Ro. sâmbătă, [lower-greek 9] Srd. sàpadau	Simply the word for 'Sabbath' on its own.
shirt		tunica	Cat. tonga, Sp. tonga, It. tonaca		camisia	Fr. chemise, Occ. camisa, Cat. camisa, Sp. camisa, Pt. camisa, It. camicia, Ro. cămașă	Late borrowing from Gaulish.
short		brevis	Fr. bref, Occ. brèu, Cat. breu, It. breve, Sp. breve, Pt. breve		curtus	Fr. court, Occ. cort, Sp. corto, OPt. corto, It. corto, Ro. scurt [lower-greek 10]	Meant 'cut short, mutilated' in CL.
sick		infirmus	OFr. enfer, OOcc. eferm, Sp. enfermo, Pt. enfermo, It. infermo		malabitus	Fr. malade, Occ. malaut, Cat. malalt, It. malato, Srd. malaidu	Contraction of LL male habitus 'in poor shape'.
skin		cutis			pellis	Fr. peau, Occ. pèl, Cat. pell, Sp. piel, Pt. pele, It. pelle, Ro. piele	Meant 'animal hide' in CL.
speak		loqui	—		fabulare	OOcc. faular, Vgl. favlur, OIt. favolare, Sp. hablar, Pt. falar	Regularization of the rare CL fabulari 'chat', originally 'tell stories', a verb based on fabula.
					fabellare	Frl. fevelâ, OIt. favellare, Srd. faeddare	Verb based on CL fabella, the diminutive of fabula.
					parabolare	Fr. parler, Occ. parlar, Cat. parlar, It. parlare	Verb based on CL parabola 'parable', a borrowing of Greek παραβολή.
stone		saxum	Pt. seixo, [lower-greek 11] It. sasso		petra	Fr. pierre, Occ. pèira, Cat. pedra, Sp. piedra, Pt. pedra, It. pietra, Ro. piatră	Late borrowing of Greek πέτρα.
Sunday		dies solis	—		dies dominicus	Fr. dimanche, Occ. dimenge, Cat. diumenge, Sp. domingo, Srd. dominigu	Lit. 'day of the Lord'. Dies 'day' could be either masculine or feminine in Latin.
					dies dominica	Vgl. domienca, It. domenica, Ro. duminică
swift		celer			rapidus	OFr. rade, OSp. raudo, OIt. ratto, Ro. repede	Meant 'hasty' in CL.
sword		gladius	OFr. glai, [lower-greek 12] OOcc. glazi, OIt. ghiado		spatha	Fr. épée, Occ. espasa, Cat. espasa, Sp. espada, Pt. espada, It. spada, Ro. spată	Borrowing of Greek σπάθη. A long cavalry sword, which superseded gladius in the 3rd C.
teach		docere	OFr. duire		insignare	Fr. enseigner, Occ. ensenhar, Cat. ensenyar, Sp. enseñar, Pt. ensinar, It. insegnare	Prefixed version of CL signare 'note, indicate'.
thick		densus	Ro. des, Vgl. dais		grossus	Fr. gros, Occ. gròs, Cat. gros, Sp. grueso, Pt. grosso, It. grosso, Ro. gros	Of obscure origin.
					spissus	Fr. épais, Occ. espés, Cat. espès, Sp. espeso, Pt. espesso, It. spesso	Generally meant 'slow', 'difficult', etc. in CL.
think		cogitare	OFr. cuidier, Occ. cuidar, Cat. cuidar, Sp. cuidar, Pt. cuidar, [lower-greek 13] OIt. coitare, Ro. cugetare		pensare	Fr. penser, Occ. pensar, Cat. pensar, Sp. pensar, Pt. pensar, It. pensare, Ro. păsare [lower-greek 14]	Generally meant 'weigh' in CL, along with the extended sense of 'consider'.
tomorrow		cras	OSp. cras, OPt. cras, OIt. crai, Sic. crai, Srd. cras		mane	Ro. mâine	Meant 'in the morning' in CL.
					de mane	Fr. demain, Occ. deman, Cat. demà, Rms. damaun, It. domani	LL expression meaning 'early in the morning'.
touch		tangere	OCat. tànyer, Sp. tañer, [lower-greek 15] Pt. tanger		toccare	Fr. toucher, Occ. tocar, Cat. tocar, Sp. tocar, Pt. tocar, It. toccare, Ro. tocare	Borrowed from Germanic, with the original sense of 'hit, strike'.
understand		intellegere	Rms. encleger, Ro. înțelegere		intendere	Fr. entendre, Occ. entendre, Cat. entendre, Sp. entender, Pt. entender, It. intendere	Had various senses in CL, most relevantly 'direct one's attention (towards)'.
week		hebdomas	OFr. domée, Ct. doma, Rms. jamna, Vgl. jedma, OIt. edima and domada. [11]		septimana	Fr. semaine, Occ. setmana, Cat. setmana, Sp. semana, Pt. semana, Vgl. setimuon, It. settimana, Ro. săptămână	Attested in LL, from CL septem 'seven', referring to the number of days in a week.
wide		latus	Fr. lé, Ro. lat		largus	Fr. large, Occ. larg, Cat. llarg, OSp. largo, [lower-greek 16] Pt. largo, It. largo, Ro. larg	Meant 'abundant' in CL.
word		verbum	Fr. verve, [lower-greek 17] OSp. vierbo, Ast. vierbu, Ro. vorbă [lower-greek 18]		parabola	Fr. parole, Occ. paraula, Cat. paraula, Sp. palabra, Pt. palavra, It. parola, Srd. paragula	Meant 'parable' in CL, a borrowing of Greek παραβολή.
work		laborare	Occ. laurar, Cat. llaurar, Sp. labrar, [lower-greek 19] Pt. lavrar, Rms. luvrar, It. lavorare		tripaliare	Fr. travailler, Occ. trabalhar, Cat. treballar, Sp. trabajar, Pt. trabalhar, Srd. triballare	Verb based on LL tripalium, a sort of torture device made of three stakes.

See also

• Appendix Probi
• Reichenau Glossary
• Proto-Romance language
• Phonological changes from Classical Latin to Proto-Romance

Explanatory notes

1. Clearly borrowed words are not counted as descendants. This excludes, for instance, the Italian word igne 'fire, which was taken from Latin.
   
   List of abbreviations:
   
   Fr. — French (central)
   OOcc. — Old Occitan
   Occ. — Occitan (central)
   OCat. — Old Catalan
   Cat. — Catalan (central)
   Ara. — Aragonese
   OSp. — Old Spanish
   Sp. — Spanish (central)
   Ast. — Asturian
   OPt. — Old Portuguese
   Pt. — Portuguese (central)
   Lig. — Ligurian
   Pie. — Piedmontese
   Lmb. — Lombard (Milanese)
   Rms. — Romansh
   Frl. — Friulan
   Vgl. — Vegliote
   OIt. — Old Italian
   It. — Italian
   Srd. — Sardinian (Logudorese)
   Sic. — Sicilian
   Ro. — Romanian
   ARo. — Aromanian
2. With the specialized sense of 'forward', cf. the Portuguese cognate.
3. With the transferred sense of 'with', cf. the Catalan cognate. The original form in both languages, as attested in medieval texts, was ab.
4. With the specialized sense of 'cathedral'.
5. Survives in modern French as chez, a grammaticalized expression meaning 'at the house of', cf. Catalan ca and Italian ca'.
6. Only the Romanian word continues to mean 'cheek'.
7. In the directional sense.
8. Today mostly obsolete in the directional sense, cf. the Spanish and Catalan cognates.
9. Now a feminine word, likely influenced by zi (f.) 'day'.
10. Derived from *ex-curtus.
11. With the specialized sense of 'pebble'.
12. With the transferred sense of 'sword-lily'.
13. With the transferred sense of 'care (for)' and 'pay attention', cf. the Spanish and Catalan cognates.
14. With the transferred sense of 'care'.
15. Had the sense of 'touch' in medieval times but has since come to mean 'play (an instrument)', cf. the Portuguese cognate.
16. Modern Spanish largo has come to mean 'long' and has completed ousted the original luengo (=Lat. longus) from that role.
17. With the transferred sense of 'eloquence'.
18. Etymology remains disputed.
19. With the specialized sense of 'plough', cf. the Catalan, Occitan, and Portuguese cognates.

Citations

1. Herman 2000: 98
2. Harrington et al. 1997: 7–10
3. Clackson, James. 2016. Latin as a source for the Romance languages. In Ledgeway, Adam & Maiden, Martin (eds.), The Oxford guide to the Romance languages, 11. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4. Herman 2000: 99–100
5. Harrington et al. 1997: 11
6. Löfstedt 1959: 163–171
7. Harrington et al. 1997: 12–13
8. Herman 2000: 106
9. Dworkin 2016: 584
10. Herman 2000: 96
11. Dworkin 2016: 585

General sources

• Dworkin, Steven Norman. 2016. Lexical stability and shared lexicon. In Ledgeway, Adam & Maiden, Martin (eds.), The Oxford guide to the Romance languages, 577–587. Oxford University Press.
• Elcock, William Dennis. 1975. The Romance languages. London: Faber and Faber.
• Herman, József. 2000. Vulgar Latin. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. Translated by Wright, Roger.
• Lewis, Charlton; Short, Charles. 1879. A Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Löfstedt, Einar. 1959. Late Latin. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co. Translated by Willis, James.
• Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm. 1911. Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: C. Winter.