Instrumentum

Instrumentum is a Latin noun (neuter, second declension) meaning tool, instrument, or device. In classical Latin it referred to any object used to perform a task, including weapons, farming implements, or other apparatus. The plural form is instrumenta.

From the verb instruere “to equip, prepare, arrange,” instrumentum denotes a thing set up to fulfill a purpose. The English word instrument and many related terms ultimately derive from this root, reflecting the sense of a means or tool used to achieve an end.

Beyond tools, later Latin and medieval texts sometimes use instrumentum to mean a written instrument or document, such as a deed or contract, serving as a formal record. This legal or documentary sense coexists with the more physical sense found in earlier literature.

In modern scholarship, instrumentum is notable mainly as the source term for the English word instrument and for discussions of Latin vocabulary, philology, and the historical development of terms for tools, devices, and documents. It illustrates how a general concept of “means” or “instrument” broadened from tangible implements to include written records and abstract measures in subsequent usage.