Etymograph

English

ultimo

Ultimo comes from Latin ultimus ‘last’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oltm̥mos1‘last’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultimus2‘last’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultimō2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1771ultimo2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ultimus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English ultimo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1771, Alexander Hamilton, From Alexander Hamilton to Fraser, Grant and Baillie, 20 Nov: “I receivd your favour of the 18th Ultimo in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oltm̥mosWiktionary, Latin ultimus‘last’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultimusWiktionary, English ultimo‘last’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultimōWiktionary, English ultimo
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1771ultimoWiktionary, English ultimo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1771, Alexander Hamilton, From Alexander Hamilton to Fraser, Grant and Baillie, 20 Nov: “I receivd your favour of the 18th Ultimo in…”

first attested First attested in 1582; from Latin ultimō (elliptically for ultimō diē or ultimō mēnse), masculine ablative singular form of ultimus (“last”); cognate with Dutch ultimo, the German ultimo, the Swedish ultimo, etc (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1582; from Latin ultimō (elliptically for ultimō diē or ultimō mēnse), masculine ablative singular form of ultimus (‘last’); cognate with Dutch ultimo, the German ultimo, the Swedish ultimo, etc.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos

Today it means

adj On the last day (of a specified month).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ultimo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin ultimus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos / ultimo

Shirt and support for this word