Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “courageous” come from?

Courageous comes from Middle English corajous, from Old French corageus, derived from Old French corage meaning heart, from Latin cor heart with the suffix -osus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr.

courageous (English): Of a person, displaying or possessing courage; Of...

Definitions

  1. Of a person, displaying or possessing courage; Of...

Ancestry of “courageous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcorajous—
2Old Frenchcorageusbrave; valiant
3Old Frenchustradition or custom
4Latinūsus—
5Latinūtor—
6Proto-Slavic*ǫtorъ—
7Proto-Slavictorъ—
8Proto-Slavictertito rub, to scrape; to polish
9Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce

Words derived from “courageous”

  • courageously
  • courageousness
  • uncourageous
  • uncourageously
  • noncourageous
  • uncourageousness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →