Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “contumely” come from?

Contumely comes from Old French contumelie, derived from Latin contumelia, formed from the prefix com- and an unattested root whose original meaning remains unclear.

contumely (English): Offensive and abusive language or behaviour;...

Definitions

  1. Offensive and abusive language or behaviour;...

Ancestry of “contumely”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcontumelieinsult
2Latincontumēlia—
Every word from Latin contumēlia →