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I presume that many Latin words made it to the Romance languages, but were never attested in writing, whether because they were limited to Vulgar Latin or just because by chance no writer used them in texts we now have.

We can still reconstruct the original Latin, particularly if the words are known across the Romance language family.

Is there a list of such words or an article about them?

Joonas Ilmavirta
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Joshua Fox
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1 Answers1

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Wiktionary has over 350 reconstructed terms for Latin. Each of these have been proposed by linguists based on etymological evidence. Each page for these terms is described as follows:

This Latin entry contains reconstructed words and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

I eliminated many of the superfluous forms, especially infinitives and the genitive forms, so there are actually more pages in Wiktionary than what is listed here. In some cases there was no first person singular form (of the present active indicative) for an infinitive, so there are forms in this list for which there is no Wiktionary page. If there isn't a page for a given verb, look for the infinitive form.

Here's the list:

abanteo, abbato, abbatuo, abbibero, absedium, abyssimus, accapo, accaptio, accapto, accatto, accognito, accolligo, accollo, accomplesco, accordo, accum, acquaerio, acrus, acucla, acutio, adbassio, adiuxto, adminacio, admortesco, adnecai, adnecatu, adneco, adoclo, adpaco, adventura, advero, advitio, aetaticum, affronto, affumo, affundo, agesco, aiunus, alemosyna, alicunus, alima, alisna, allacto, allumino, altio, amaricus, ambito, amicitas, ando, anteanus, apicla, appaco, appariculo, appodio, arbalista, arborus, arcio, ardo, arresto, arripo, asciola, ascla, assalto, assecuro, attitio, attrago, auca, auso, avicellus, aviola, aviolus, baba, babbus, baccinum, baiulivus, bannio, barbatorem, barra, barrum, bassio, basto, bataclum, bellitas, bellitia, bisonium, blancus, blastemo, blastimo, blavus, boscaticum, bragio, brandus, brigna, bullico, cadentia, cadeo, calcea, cancriclus, canile, capitina, cappella, cappellus, capum, carnaceus, casco, casico, catunum, caveola, cavula, certanus, chirurgianus, cicala, cinquaginta, cinque, cinusia, clapo, clubium, cnifus, coactico, cocinarius, combatto, cominitio, commando, complesco, confesso, consutura, contingesco, convito, coratio, cordarius, cosio, coso, crebellum, cremo, cuniclus, damnaticum, dancio, decembrius, deexcito, deintus, delicatio, depano, derectio, derectus, deripo, destrugo, dia, discalceus, disculceus, dismerdo, domino, domnicella, drectus, ergo, excadeo, excadesco, excalceus, excambio, excappo, excarmino, exeligo, exfortio, expavento, experlavo, extorco, extuto, exvento, exvolo, fabello, facia, fallesco, Fata, feminus, fetiolus, fibella, ficco, figico, finesco, fio, flasca, florio, flotus, focacia, fortio, frappo, frictura, frocus, genuclum, glacia, grabo, granica, haleno, halsbergus, harpa, haunio, Hispaniolus, ianuella, iecto, illu, imbibito, imbosco, implio, impositum, imprehendo, inaltio, inaltus, incaldesco, inclago, indenso, indulcesco, ingrevico, interro, intorco, inuxoro, invirdesco, invitio, ioco, iugaster, lacartus, laitus, languio, leviarius, linguaticum, longitanus, lucio, machino, mais, malifatius, mana, maneana, mania, manizo, mas, matrastra, matrina, medullum, melus, metio, metipsimus, minacia, minacio, mino, misculo, mollio, montania, monto, mordo, morio, movo, mucco, mulgo, murrum, musclus, muso, ninnus, nivico, nivo, noco, nomine, oblito, odio, offeresco, offerio, ordio, orgollio, orulo, palatare, palatium, paresco, pariclus, passarus, passo, patrinus, patta, pendico, perdono, peresco, petio, picco, piccus, picto, pincio, pisco, pissio, pittus, plattus, ploppus, plovo, podio, posso, postius, preco, presso, primavera, pulica, punctio, puppa, putio, putrio, quaresima, quassico, quomo, rabia, raso, raspo, reexcapto, refuso, rencus, rendo, renio, repoenitio, ridio, rido, rosico, rossa, ruptio, sagia, sambatum, sanitosus, sapeo, sarclo, scermio, scribio, sedento, sementia, semitarius, sennus, septembrius, sequio, sicilo, smeralda, smeraldus, socra, soliclus, sorbio, spio, strinctus, stuno, subrido, sufferio, suggluttio, superanus, surrupo, tardivus, tasto, tempulum, tenio, timo, tiro, tocco, toppus, torco, tractio, tragino, tremo, trifolum, tripalio, tropo, trudico, turbulo, turbulus, tutellus, tuto, undizo, uso, vera, veranum, versura, vestitura, virdia, visaticum, volto, wadanio, wardo, warnio, werra

Expedito Bipes
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    Good answer,, but a link and a sample is better than the full list – Joshua Fox May 05 '20 at 19:37
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    @vectory I thought that links alone were discouraged because of breakages? – Restioson May 05 '20 at 20:18
  • @Restioson wiktionary is durably archived somewhere, I'd hope ;) – vectory May 05 '20 at 21:55
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    I myself would actually prefer a link and the full list, as long as it fits into one answer. De gustibus non disputandum? – Cerberus May 06 '20 at 00:50
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    @Cerberus. I agree. It's better that way. – Expedito Bipes May 06 '20 at 00:55
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    @ExpeditoBipes: Perfect. And some interesting words, too! I suspect many would have been Vulgar. – Cerberus May 06 '20 at 01:55
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    @Cerberus. I also found it very interesting. I didn't know that such a list existed before today. – Expedito Bipes May 06 '20 at 02:01
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    It looks very much as if the true list is shorter than what we have here: as if, in an ancestor of this list, several words were specified using two forms, e.g. "abanteo, abanteare", "amicitas, amicitatis", and whoever sorted them treated each form as if it were a separate list entry. – Rosie F May 06 '20 at 06:06
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    Seriously? "Fata"? That's used frequently in the Aeneid. A scholarly source would be nice. Wiktionary is perhaps not that... – C Monsour May 06 '20 at 06:54
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    @RosieF. I eliminated the infinitives and the genitive forms. – Expedito Bipes May 06 '20 at 12:40
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    @CMonsour. Did you check out the page for Fata in Wiktionary? It explains why it's listed. You might also note that Fata doesn't have an entry of its own in L&S. The plural form of fatum was adapted for a different use. – Expedito Bipes May 06 '20 at 12:49
  • @ExpeditoBipes Linguistic reconstruction uses sounds laws (Lautgesetze). You can't reconstruct that a redeployment of a plural took place in the mother language rather than as an areal spread later. That's total bunk. – C Monsour May 06 '20 at 14:29
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    @CMonsour: You may or may not be right. But must you express yourself so forcefully? – Cerberus May 07 '20 at 17:19