Where does “heinous” come from?

Heinous comes from Old French haineus, from the Old French suffix -us attached to a root, ultimately from Latin -osus, Old Latin -osos, Proto-Italic -owonssos, and Latin -o-wont-to-s.

heinous (English): Totally reprehensible

Definitions

  1. Totally reprehensible

Ancestry of “heinous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchhaineushateful; characterized by hatred; despicable;...
2Old French-us-ous, used for forming adjectives
3Latin-ōsusose, -ous, -ful (full of or overly prone to)
4Old Latin-ōssus

Words derived from “heinous

Every word from Old Latin -ōssus
heinous — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer