Where does “detest” come from?
Detest comes from Middle French detester, from Latin detestari meaning to curse or abhor, ultimately derived from Latin testis meaning witness, with the prefix de- and root from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-.
detest (English): To dislike intensely; to loathe; To witness...
Definitions
- To dislike intensely; to loathe; To witness...
Ancestry of “detest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | detester | to hate; to detest |
| 2 | Latin | detestor | I curse or execrate; I detest or loathe; I avert... |
| 3 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 4 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 5 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 6 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |