Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dolorous” come from?

Dolorous comes from Middle English dolorous, from Old French dolerous, from Late Latin dolorosus meaning sorrowful, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root delh₁- meaning to harm or grieve.

dolorous (English): Solemnly or ponderously sad

Definitions

  1. Solemnly or ponderously sad

Ancestry of “dolorous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdolorous—
2Old Frenchdolerouspainful
3Late Latindolorosuspainful; painful; sorrowful; painful; full of...
4Latindolorpain, ache, hurt; anguish, grief, sorrow;...
5Latin-orused to form a third-declension masculine...
6Proto-Italic-ōsCreates masculine action nouns or result nouns...
7Proto-Indo-European-ōsCreates masculine and feminine action nouns or...
8Proto-Indo-European-oss—
9Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “dolorous”

  • dolorously
  • dolorousness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →