Titulus
/ˈtɪ.tu.lus/noun
A Latin word meaning an inscription, label, title, or epitaph.
Did you know?In Roman execution practice, a titulus could be the placard naming a condemned person’s crime; Christian tradition calls the inscription placed above Jesus’s cross his titulus.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
τίτλος (títlos)
“A title, inscription, or heading; possibly the source or a close relative of Latin titulus, though the ultimate origin is uncertain.”
Classical Latin
Latin
titulus
“An inscription, label, title, honorific name, or epitaph.”
Late Latin
Latin
titulus
“A title or heading, including a church or legal designation.”
Old English
Old English
titel
“A title or inscription, borrowed from Latin through Germanic or ecclesiastical channels.”
Middle English
English
titel
“A title, heading, or designation.”
14th Century
Old French/English
title
“A name or heading identifying a written work, office, rank, or legal claim.”
Modern English
English
title
“A name identifying a work, a position of rank, or a right to ownership.”