| Old Latin | |
|---|---|
| Priscan Latin | |
 The Duenos inscription, one of the earliest Old Latin texts | |
| Native to | Latium, later the Roman Kingdom and Republic |
| Region | Italy |
| Ethnicity | Latins, Romans |
| Era | Attested since 7th century BC. Developed into Vulgar Latin as colloquial form, and Classical Latin as literary form, around 75 BC. |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Old Italic script before it evolved into the Latin alphabet | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Rome |
| Regulated by | Schools of grammar and rhetoric |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
qbb | |
| Glottolog | oldl1238 |
 Expansion of the Roman Republic during the 2nd century BC. Very little Latin is likely to have been spoken beyond the green area, and other languages were spoken even within it. | |
Old Latin, also known as Early, Archaic or Priscan Latin (Classical Latin: prīsca Latīnitās, lit. 'ancient Latinity'), was the Latin language in the period roughly before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin.[1] A member of the Italic languages, it descends from a common Proto-Italic language; Latino-Faliscan is likely a separate branch from Osco-Umbrian. All these languages may be relatively closely related to Venetic and possibly further to Celtic; compare the Italo-Celtic hypothesis.
The use of "old", "early" and "archaic" has been standard in publications of Old Latin writings since at least the 18th century. The definition is not arbitrary, but the terms refer to spelling conventions and word forms not generally found in works written under the Roman Empire. This article presents some of the major differences.
The earliest known specimen of Latin seems to be on the Praeneste fibula. An analysis done in 2011 declared it to be genuine "beyond any reasonable doubt"[2] and dating from the Orientalizing period, in the first half of the seventh century BC.[3] Other Old Latin inscriptions dated to either the late Roman Kingdom or early Roman Republic include the Lapis Niger stone, the Duenos Inscription on a kernos vase, and the Garigliano bowl of Bucchero type.
- ^ "Archaic Latin". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.
- ^ Maras, Daniele F. (Winter 2012). "Scientists declare the Fibula Praenestina and its inscription to be genuine 'beyond any reasonable doubt'" (PDF). Etruscan News. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2012.
- ^ Maras, Daniele Federico. "Scientists declare the Fibula Prenestina and its inscription to be genuine 'beyond any reasonable doubt'". academia.edu. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.