Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fatuous” come from?

Fatuous comes from Latin fatuus, from Proto-Indo-European bʰat-, with the original sense referring to something foolish or insipid.

fatuous (English): Obnoxiously stupid, vacantly silly, content in...

Definitions

  1. Obnoxiously stupid, vacantly silly, content in...

Ancestry of “fatuous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinfatuusfoolish, silly, simple; stupid; insipid,...
2Latinfātus—
3Latinfor"defective"; I speak, talk, say
4Proto-Italicfāōrspeak
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰéh₂tito speak, to be talking

Words derived from “fatuous”

  • fatuously
  • fatuousness
  • unfatuous
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰéh₂ti →