*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of latex

Borrowed from New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”), a later use of Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”). Potentially a borrowing from Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”), ref

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph). · The milky sap of several trees that coagulates on exposure to air; used to make rubber. · An emulsion of rubber in water, used in adhesives and the like. · Natural latex rubber, especially nonvulcanized rubber, such as is used in making latex gloves, latex condoms, and latex clothing.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”), a later use of Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”). Potentially a borrowing from Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”), reformed by analogy to other nouns in -ex. The semantic shift, however, from drop of wine to water is difficult to explain and may indicate that both words originated from a separate language. Perhaps from the same root as Proto-Celtic *latis (Old Irish laith (“liquid, beer”), Welsh llad (“beer”)) or Proto-Germanic *ladjō- (Old High German letto (“clay, loam”), Old Norse leðja (“mud, dregs”)) or from a Pre-Greek language.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-new",
        "3": "latex",
        "4": "",
        "5": "clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid"
      },
      "expansion": "New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "latex",
        "4": "",
        "5": "water; liquid, fluid"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "λᾰ́τᾰξ",
        "3": "",
        "4": "drop of wine"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cel-pro",
        "2": "*latis"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Celtic *latis"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sga",
        "2": "laith",
        "3": "",
        "4": "liquid, beer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Irish laith (“liquid, beer”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "llad",
        "3": "",
        "4": "beer"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh llad (“beer”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gem-pro",
        "2": "*ladjō-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ladjō-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "letto",
        "3": "",
        "4": "clay, loam"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German letto (“clay, loam”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "leðja",
        "3": "",
        "4": "mud, dregs"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse leðja (“mud, dregs”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "qsb-grc"
      },
      "expansion": "Pre-Greek"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "latex",
      "latex#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "latex",
      "latex#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "λᾰ́τᾰξ",
      "λάταξ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "*latis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/latis"
    ],
    [
      "laith",
      "laith#Old_Irish"
    ],
    [
      "llad",
      "llad#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "*ladjō-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ladjō-"
    ],
    [
      "letto",
      "letto#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "leðja",
      "leðja#Old_Norse"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph).",
        "The milky sap of several trees that coagulates on exposure to air; used to make rubber.",
        "An emulsion of rubber in water, used in adhesives and the like.",
        "Natural latex rubber, especially nonvulcanized rubber, such as is used in making latex gloves, latex condoms, and latex clothing."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "countable",
        "rare",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "8c5f3c18b84202894c93d5e77cd61e718b41b036f88c8435524748a149b6a596",
      "rawRecordSha256": "29a7d92351303d20d08cb65b162fca787548355fce1e680439102694d80aef71",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 437263
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for latex →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bGF0ZXg