instrumentum

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin īnstruō

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-mentom

Latin -mentum

Latin īnstrūmentum

From īnstruō (“build, construct; arrange”) + -mentum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ĩː.struːˈmɛn.tũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [in.struˈmɛn.tum]

Noun

īnstrūmentum n (genitive īnstrūmentī); second declension

1. An instrument, tool, utensil
2. (collective) supply, provision
3. (general) paraphernalia, equipment
4. records, documents

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta
genitive	īnstrūmentī	īnstrūmentōrum
dative	īnstrūmentō	īnstrūmentīs
accusative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta
ablative	īnstrūmentō	īnstrūmentīs
vocative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta

Related terms

• īnstructē
• īnstructiō
• īnstructor
• īnstructūra
• īnstrūctus
• īnstruō

Descendants

• Catalan: instrument
• → Middle Dutch: instrument
  • Dutch: instrument
• Old French: instrument
  • → Middle English: instrument
    • English: instrument
  • French: instrument
• Galician: estormento, instrumento (borrowing)
• → Middle High German: instrument
  • German: Instrument
• Middle Low German: instrument
  • German Low German: Instrument
• → Middle Irish: instrumint
  • Irish: ionstraim, instrúim (obsolete)
• Italian: strumento
• Occitan: instrument
• Piedmontese: strument
• Portuguese: instrumento
• Romanian: instrument
• → Russian: инструмент (instrument)
• Sicilian: strummentu
• Spanish: instrumento (see there for further descendants)

References

• “instrumentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “instrumentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "instrumentum", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “instrumentum”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• instrumentum in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016